Conversation Collections
by MaxesCliff
Summary: After a life of extraordinary events, he needed his best friends to know. Having told no one else of these things made him question if they ever really happened. It was selfish, but he was divulging these conversations to ease another burden off his chest.
1. Prologue: The purpose

*****I do not own anything relating to Harry Potter. The rights are reserved to the original author, JK Rowling. I'm just putting my own twist to how I imagine it went down after the 7th book. It's my first go at writing a fanfic. I still need a beta... Let me know if any interested parties. Thank you.*****

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There was always a certain calmness that came with the setting of the sun. Harry Potter had lived a long happy life despite of how it began. Not many would have guessed that his life would have eventually led to this. It was said that in the first twenty years of his life he had experienced a dozen's lifetimes' pain and as much courage. Yes his first years had been fast paced, adventure ridden and ultimately lethal in their nature, but he lived. He'd always live; he was after all, the boy-who-lived.

Now at the cusp of the end Harry find himself reunited with the never wavering Golden Trio. The foundation of his family despite no actual blood ties, had always been there. They were there before he was victorious but after wards they were still there, unyielding and loyal. The three of them sat at the Potter's country home, out in a porch, enjoying the sunset on a wooden swing. They'd talked a great about many things. They, besides Harry himself, knew most of what transpired those trouble years before the greatest champion for evil was defeated.

When life gave him time, when he wasn't pressed by an unyielding need to meet his own doom, when the weight of the wizarding world was no longer on his shoulders, when life afforded him time to finally answer all the questions, he sought answers. When the world slowed enough for him to realize gaps and want to fill them. Information and curiosity, a need to close some ties, to end old feuds, to rest old grudges, to fix broken bridges, to understand. More than anyone, he'd know what it was to walk and realize one's ephemerality, to walk into death's hands. Because of this, he, perhaps more than anyone else, knew that life could be short, and could end without warning. He'd put these thoughts off but never completely forgot.

For many years he grew the courage and throughout the years collected these conversations. Today would be the day he revealed it all. There had been many books and articles and history book chapters that claimed to know and give exclusive details on those historical events, but truly it, was only Harry who knew and who was at this moment ready to divulge them. Why? Why now after so many years did he feel like divulging it? Why was it necessary to do so at all? They mostly knew what happened those days. The reason being, that he was ready to let it all go. He had a hard time after the war dealing with the effects and having so many close to him die. It wasn't the end of the pain, Voldemort's downfall. The aftereffects, the recuperation and eventual healing took so much time. After a life of extraordinary events, he needed his best friends to know. Having told no one else of these things made him question if they ever really happened. It was selfish, but he was divulging to ease another burden off his chest.


	2. Conversation 1: Petunia's truth

***** I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation ****1: ****Petunia's truth.**

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As he sat there, Harry wondered how he would begin to explain to his best friends why all of this was necessary. They sat there in silence listening to him begin to tell his tale.

"What's this about Harry, you've had us worried. When you said you wanted to talk we got worried," immediately shot off Hermione, with worry evident in her features.

"I think it's time. Time for you guys to know everything. I know we haven't spoken of this often but it's something I'm ready to do," was how Harry began his explanation.

"What's this about mate?" Ron chimed in, hoping to get to the point.

"I want to share everything that happened back then. You guys are probably the only two people who know the most, but even so, there's many things I held back. You see, throughout all these years I've spoken to some people in hopes of finally plugging all the gaps." As he Harry looked upon the features of his life-long friends he could still see confusion in their gazes. He needed to lay it all out.

"After the war when trying to deal with everything afterwards I realized there were many things I never got answers to, mostly because I wasn't sure I'd be alive long enough to seek them out. So when I suddenly had my whole life before me, it felt like I couldn't go on without first filling those gaps. I went to see my Aunt Petunia. Actually not just her, I spoke to Dudley, to Professor McGonagall, and to Draco Malfoy. I needed my aunt to explain her side, my mom's family. The things I couldn't find out from anybody else. I saw McGonagall because she's the only living person who could tell me about my parents, who they were, who she knew them as. Everything I heard from them was always in passing, I never actually had time to figure out who they were and anybody else who could have told me passed away in the final battle."

"So why'd you need to speak to Malfoy? I see why you'd want to talk to the others," Ron input finding it difficult to overcome old and new prejudices against the Slytherin.

"I thought that would have been easy to see why. We were school enemies but when the time came, we were on the same side. I wanted to understand him, since I once heard it said that we're both the same only different sides to the same coin. I always thought there'd be more to him. I went to find answers to my questions. What happened afterwards, I had no way of predicting," Harry finished looking pointedly at Hermione who'd been quiet during this last part of the conversation.

"So what did you want to tell us," Hermione sidetracked, hoping to change the direction of the conversation.

"I will be telling you everything I learned from these conversations. I'm ready to. My therapist said I should share but really it's something I want to share."

So as Harry began recounting what transpired so many years ago, he was brought back to that time. He could feel himself relive the emotions of that time as he recounted his previous conversation. It was a horrible place to be in his head. His emotional state was in shock but this is where the whole initiative began for Harry. This was the once conversation he needed before he could move on with his life. This was the one that he got to first, the one he needed after having done what he did at the age of 17.

Harry had spent the past year in almost complete solitude. He needed to get away to find a purpose to his life outside Voldemort's destiny. Ginny was forgiving in this aspect and understood that this was something he needed. His best friends understood this too and so as soon as he help the Hermione find her parents they agreed to part ways for a while. He knew he couldn't be completely away since he was needed to testify for different Ministry officials and trials but for the most part his time was his own. Even so, he told no one of his exact whereabouts and only allowed certain people to reach him via floo or owls.

He didn't spend it on a sunny beach like he imagined he would. He simply rented a small but comfortable home in a small village in the Italian country and lived amongst people who had no idea who he was. He even went completely muggle. He took that time to wrap his head around all that had transpired, to grieve, to mourn, to cry, to laugh to celebrate. It was a spiritual cleansing he needed and took his time with it knowing it was important for his future that he get it right. After nearly nine months of working through his issues he realized there was a large source of anger still undealt with.

His formative years, there was still so much he didn't understand, his childhood. There was too much anger. He needed to address that part of himself before that anger would consume him and eventually define him. So it was at that point that he left his self-imposed extended seclusion. He sought out his aunt Petunia. He didn't really worry much after the war in wondering what became of his relatives. He hadn't given them a moment's thought until that very moment. He assumed the Ministry had dealt with them but now he needed to find them. He briefly thought of contacting the ministry but he didn't want to answer the questions that would follow.

So he went to the place he once called home. Where he spend 10 years of his life ignorant of this true heritage. He didn't expect them to be there but the signs were all there. The car wasn't in the drive, but that was to be expected during a weekday. The plants, however, were recently pruned. The house looked alive. Being there at the door he thought he might have maybe asked, maybe called ahead instead of dropping by. Luckily it was mid morning and if they kept to old routine, his Aunt should be home alone, and for a while too.

The hardest step was knocking on the door, the rest just followed. Two quick raps and he waited. Not before long he heard the tell tell signs of someone approaching. Before he knew it the door was ajar and he was face to face with his Aunt. With no one around to buffer their conversation, he wondered how she'd react to having him at her doorstep. Her face didn't exactly scream 'welcome'.

"You're alive," she neither asked nor stated, the sentiment getting stuck in between.

"Yeah, I guess, so." An awkward silence.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, I wondered if we could have a chat." He truly wondered if she'd agreed. Social norms dictated her to allow it but maybe there was just enough resentment to deny his request. After some time, she responded.

"Come inside, I'll get us some tea," and after years in the same roof that was about as welcoming to him as he'd ever known her to be.

He looked around at the eerily similar place. Showing no evidence of ever having been disturbed. It was as it had always been, you'd never tell from the place that Harry had ever lived amongst them then again, this wasn't different from when he'd lived there a few months back. This hurt more than he cared to acknowledge. He decided to go for easier topics.

"I'm glad you made it out alright. How's everyone?" that seemed easy enough.

"You call placing the whole family under danger alright? We changed our lives, for what? For whose sake, for your kind?" at least he thought he'd started out easy, she immediately grew to screeching decibels. It was never going to be easy.

"I didn't come here to fight aunt Petunia. I came here to understand." That seemed to give her pause. At least enough for Harry to get out the rest of his planned out introduction.

"I know you've never held my kind in any regard but you are the only family I have left. For the longest time all I had was questions about who my parents were. I never got them. You were her sister, I know you didn't get on well but you were her sister." His voice was already beginning to break. He didn't realize the emotions would get to him this early on.

"Is there anything you can tell me about her. I never knew her, I don't remember her voice, just the scream before she died, I don't know how her eyes were but people say they see them in mine. Is that true?" Harry didn't manage to say these words without tears brimming over, this was pain he never tapped into and he was doing it willingly knowing she could rebuff him at any moment. He stayed quite allowing her time to consider it.

He still didn't dare look up but could hear her get up. He feared the worst. Just a few words and she was gone. "Wait here."

After a few minutes she returned with a small wooden keepsake box in her hands. He'd never seen it and must have realized this.

"I've had this locked away in a bank safety deposit box, I took it out knowing it wouldn't be long before you arrived on my door again asking questions."

Harry could only look on at the small box atop the table. His aunt slowly pushed it across and motioned for him to open it. Harry took slow calculated moments unsure about what would soon be revealed to him.

Inside where momentos of his mother. There were pictures, small notes, weird trinkets that must have held some emotional significance to his mother. He could only look on. Before when he stared at his, he never saw the family connection to his mother but in these pictures of their youth he could just make out the subtle similarities. There were so many questions and he couldn't hold back. He asked about his grandparents, their names, who they were, what happened. He had a thirst for knowing where he came from. His aunt at first reluctantly answered his questions but nonetheless aquesed. The mood changed when she revealed what had become of them.

"They died shortly before Lily's death. The police said it was a robbery gone bad but the sign were there, I knew it was your kind's doing. That's part of the reason we became estranged. I blamed her their passing. She never denied it and the resentment grew. Then a mere three months later we awake to find you on our doorstep with only a letter to your name." Harry saw his aunt's emotions grow as she let this all out. These were the words he needed to hear and so he let her continue uninterrupted.

"There you were, her only son, with that same look I remember your mother having the last time I saw her, that last argument. The last words I spoke to her, I'll never forget. 'when I buried them, I buried the last remaining part of my family, I don't ever want to see you again Lily.'" Harry was stunned into silence. These were the answers he wanted to hear but they were hard to take in.

"They were harsh words but at that moment I meant them, I could have easily gone the rest of my life without wanting to see her again. I know why you came here." His aunt said the last part suddenly. Looking at him as if noticing him for the first time.

"You want to know why? why I treated you the way I did? Why did I only treat you with disdain?" She didn't wait for him to confirm the truth and moved on to answer the question.

"The truth is I don't have the answers you want to hear. There is no why. Your mothers and my relationship had gone sour and very recently when you arrived. That anger was fresh. I was angry for at her for letting our parents get caught in this. I was angry at her for getting herself killed, I was angry she left you without a family, I was mostly angry Harry. Having you there completely dependent on us was difficult, not financially, that we could take, the greater burden was the emotional burden you placed on me. Seeing you always brought back that anger that grief so I distanced myself. We swore when we took you in that we'd do better than them, we would take that world away from you, from us. We'd lost enough people to that world. Hard as is it to see, we did want to protect you. I can see your not satisfied. Well no, some of our behavior can't be excused. There's nothing I can say for that. I fell pray to my emotions and lashed out, the cupboard, the lack of affection. I didn't want you and that was my way of rebelling against a situation I had no choice but to accept."

Harry looked on to his aunt, trying to fit these answer in his perspective. They still weren't good enough. She had said her peace but he still wanted more. So he began, "I don't think I'll ever truly understand why you did what you did but I just want to get somethings out too. When I think back I remember being angry, being envious of Dudley. I was angry that I was treated like crap, that everyone looked down on me, that I had no friends. Then I just became resigned, still angry but resigned that this was to be my life, insignificance. Then the letters began and although the anger was there it was a relief that I finally had an escape, one I sought out so many times. The anger was less, and for the first time I had true friends although still I had to call this place my home. If I was ever grateful is that you held on as long as you did and that I didn't completely starve. I know you had your reasons but you don't know how hard you made everything else. So unnecessarily hard. I was so unprepared from the world you hid from me and yet so much was expected from me. It was hard enough but I didn't need that baggage. It wasn't that I couldn't take it but the pity from some people was too much, poor Harry, an orphan, poor Harry has to be raised by cruel muggles, poor Harry never had any friends. If my life was anything is was anything but easy."

"What happened after we left? Those people that brought us back came to us in May and said it was over but for precaution we couldn't go back until August." Harry's aunt broke into his wreck of emotions. Her features were school but at the fringes he could see hints of regret and maybe at this point in life, that was enough.

"Is that all you heard?" Harry asked trying to gauge how much she knew.

"The one with the funny coat said that you had won and that Voldemort had died. He said that things were going to be rough to get everything in order but it would work out eventually."

"He was right. We fought, I lived, he died. Many people I knew died. There are still some bad people who got away but they are top priority." Was all that Harry felt himself able to reveal. He couldn't necessarily get into the details since she lacked so much background knowledge on magic.

He stared across to his aunt realizing that she'd never really understand how much it took for those words to become true. How much he had sacrificed, his life even for that short sentence. I lived, he died. She would never know it was almost his undoing. She would never know of the pain, the sorrow accompanied in those words, but now was a good time to hear them.

"I wasn't easy," he began wanting her for once realize what it took to accomplish that. "I didn't think I'd come out alive, from the beginning I was destined to die. It's hard to keep walking once you know how the story ends." But Harry stopped, he didn't want to reveal anymore. He didn't want those precious details to fall under her scrutiny. It was enough for her to know that it almost killed him, in fact it did. It was enough for her to see how his face transformed at the mere memory. The scars were still fresh, the pain across his face evident.

Petunia looked onto the boy, no the young man sitting across from her. As soon as he had began talking about what transpired his whole expression changed. On his face where the signs of somebody who had lived things beyond his years. His features were of youth but that stare and that depth in his eyes were of a much much older man. She could only begin to comprehend what it took for her nephew to come across the most evil person in the magical world and come out victor. There was part of her who wished she knew him enough for him to confide to her the demons that still seem to haunt him. In all these years she again felt the tug of maternal instincts seeing Harry across from her, in desperate need of the very same thing. He needed family. He might have come out with his life, but a deeper look revealed an injured soul.

Harry could feel her stare upon him and after checking the time he saw his departure upon him. He didn't mind seeing his uncle again but not today. He wasn't prepared for that. He moved to get up and she mirrored his movements and walked him to the door. Just as he was about to turn back to say goodbye a whiff of air and sudden movement caught him by surprise. His aunt had surprised him and threw her arms in an embrace. At first he didn't respond but soon his stance melted. She hugged him in a tight embrace and his semblance deflated. For once in his life he was feeling what a mother's hug was, because in that moment that's what he imagined it would feel like. He had no guard against it and all the years of sorrow and pain appeared as tears as he cried in his aunt's embrace. They stood there for who knows how long, Harry being comforted by the woman's embrace unlike any other he'd had.

Finally when he as able put himself together and as he looked down at his aunt he saw a small smile and tears in her eyes. He easily returned it and he walked away down the street into an alley where he could safely apparate. As he walked he thought back at what had just transpired. He hadn't gotten all the answers he sought and not all the answers were easy to take in but for now it was enough. He didn't know what he expected coming into this conversation but he didn't regret the exchange. His aunt would always reserve some aloofness towards him. He didn't expect things to change overnight but something had definitely changed between them. Things between him and his estranged family might never be completely fixed but in that last moment he knew there had been a change. He didn't know if it was the answers he was looking for but at that moment it was enough. He might never be able to heal that wound but it was starting point. So he left, went back knowing the next time, and he was sure he'd want there to be a next time, he saw them, it would be under better circumstances.

As he finished retelling his story he noticed the serious masks on his friends faces. He didn't know what their reactions would be but now wasn't the time to reflect. He wanted to get it all out before anything could be said. This was only the beginning and there was still much to come.


	3. Conversation 2: Dudley Demented

********* I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation 2: Dudley Demented**

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The conversation that arose with his cousin Dudley was the most surprising. Surprising because it was not one he planned or initiated. He recounted this story nonetheless. It was all part of the bigger picture in his life-long quest for true closure. He knew Hermione had already heard it being that she was there for part of it and even Ron to some extent.

And so again he delved into his memory back to that time so long ago. It was about two and a half years after he met with his Aunt Petunia. He had returned from his sabbatical and was working to get his life settled. At that time he lived at Grimauld Place. He had finished his NEWT studies that allowed him to become an auror and he had just completed the preliminary training to move on to the serious stuff. Ginny and his relationship was rekindled and were glad to take things slow for a change. He was sitting alone in his sitting room, busy dealing with paperwork. He usually took his lunch at home and worked through his meal whilst he ate. Amongst the letters was a muggle envelope amongst the parchment others. He looked at it first, since it stood out. The handwriting looked familiar but he couldn't place it. After opening the letter he quickly figured it out and looked on hesitantly wondering what his cousin would possibly have to write to him about

Harry,

I hope this letter finds you well. I've been meaning to write for some time but I didn't know how to do it. Finding a bloody owl is harder than I thought. I was hoping you could meet with me sometime this week, whenever you're free. I wanted to talk to you and it's best done in person. We'd be glad to have you over for dinner at mum's.

Dudley D.

P.S A phone call would be easiest.

Harry stared at the strange note and couldn't help but laugh. He briefly wondered how his cousin had managed to get a hold of an owl. After Hedwig's death he took a while getting another one and at one point decided against replacing his loyal bird but practically won over. He finally found another companion, a regal looking barn own, named Orion. He quickly wrote back an answer he didn't think too much on. He agreed for Friday night dinner. This was another interesting conversation in the midst.

Harry arrived on Privet Dr. ten minutes before he knew dinner would be served. He hoped this would diminish the amount of awkward small talk until dinner. He knew the bulk of the conversation wouldn't be until after dinner. He came alone and donned his best muggle clothing, which were scarce since he hadn't ventured out much. After pleasant small talk, he began to relax, it was comforting to see that some things remained untouched even after the war. His uncle still had his temper although he dampened it down for his company, his aunt looked severe as ever but he caught a small smile from her earlier when he walked on. His cousin was the only true change, the seemed happier, calmer, being the one who willingly filled Harry into what happened after he left. There was so much, but in a sense he was glad to hear they'd come out mostly unchanged. He was surprised to hear that Dudley had married. He wondered why he hadn't heard of the happy occasion but it became apparent in the next sentence. Apparently it had been a rushed affair because the state of the bride. A child out of wedlock. Harry had been an uncle for two years and this was the first time he'd heard of it.

When he had visited his Aunt two and a half years ago there had been some turmoil in the family. There had been an estrangement between son and parents. When he visited those many months ago, they hadn't seen Dudley for about 4 months. They had great arguments against his girlfriend back then. They didn't approve. It would be mere weeks after that conversation that Dudley reappeared into their lives in hopes of reconciliation and news of a grandchild on the way.

He offered his uncle his congratulations. His niece, Katelyn was just a little over two years old. There was a rush of happiness, he was truly happy for Dudley although he could see some hesitation in the faces of the grandparents. Soon pictures emerged and he couldn't help the easy smile that slipped from his mouth, she looked like her mother in the picture but he could also make out Dudley's features, the mouth and nose were all too familiar.

"This is actually why I asked to speak with you today, Harry," Dudley broke into his examination of his little niece.

He wondered briefly how his niece would be the reason he was asked here today. Sure in the last years the hostility had diminished but he hardly believed Dudley would want his as a godparent.

"I'm all ears, what is it you want to talk about,"Harry replied hoping to convey a welcoming semblance.

"It's about Katelyn, I had some questions. I'm worried about her. There's been strange things happening around her," and that's when Harry knew why his cousin called him there today.

"You think she's magical?" he deadpanned agreeing that honesty was the best policy in these circumstances.

"We think she might be. Karen doesn't know about any of it. She just brushes off but I still remember when we were younger how strange things always happened around you. Is there any way you could find out for sure?" Dudley asked with true sincerity in his eyes. His cousin really looked worried. Luckily Harry knew of a possible solution to this. If it was true, they might be seeing more of each other than he'd ever anticipated.

"Is she here right now?" he wondered.

"No she stayed at home, we have a flat nearby. I know its asking a lot, but I'd like to see if you could help me out."

"I personally don't know how to determine that but one of my closest friends, maybe she can help. She's a doctor in our world and her parents aren't magical so she can really help you understand if if comes to it. How soon do you want to find out? I'd have to let her know but I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Harry was thinking of Hermione. After the war her career she pursued was healer with a specialty with children. She was recently certified but he trusted her to know her stuff.

Dudley looked on to his parents and they silently nodded. "I'll be bringing her here tomorrow, she spends the morning with mum since Karen works and I usually work. I'll take off tomorrow and meet you here around 10, does that work?"

Once that was settled Harry took his leave. There was little to be discussed without truly knowing. He walked into an alley and apparated into his friends home. They'd recently moved in together and he hoped that he wouldn't be intruding. They were surprised and after knowing him so well they knew something was up.

"What do you need," Ron immediately asked. They'd always know him best.

"Actually, I need something from Hermione," he said looking over at his friend who was seated besides him.

"Anything, What do you need?" she replied with a kind smile he'd grown to recognize.

"I actually was wondering if you're free tomorrow morning. I don't know the protocol for this kind of thing but I need you to do a magic signature verification on a two year old."

Hermione looked on at him quizzically. "Normally for this procedure we'd have to go through one of the St. Mungo's clinics but as you're here asking I don't think that's what you had in mind. I'll do it Harry. Who is it exactly?" He was glad she saw that he wanted to avoid the proper channels. His time on both sides of the law made him skirmish of protocols and ministries.

"This is why I wanted to avoid the hospital. It's for my cousin's daughter. The muggles, Dudley, he has a kid and they think she might be magical. They didn't know who to ask for help and I spoke to them yesterday. Do you think you can do it?"

Harry saw both Ron and Hermione's expressions. To say they were surprised was an understatement. They were surprised but didn't ask anything else. Hermione agreed to the time and place and early the next morning they met to apparate together.

"At exactly five after the hour, Hermione and Harry arrived again at their doorstep. They both knew muggles well and dressed accordingly. When the door opened they were greeted by a relieved Dudley, glad that they came. His cousin might have thought he wouldn't show but he did as he promised. Hermione greeted his cousin and aunt who were the only adults in at the time. They walked on to the sitting room and they saw her. A vibrant toddler playing with some toys in the living room. Her hair was more golden than Dudley's had ever been, a trait of his mother's he guessed. She was smiling and making unrecognizable noises. Hermione approached Dudley and his aunt and got to business. She'd discussed this with him yesterday. There were certain things she wanted to explain about the procedure to them, it wouldn't hurt but she also understood their reluctance to magic so she asked to explain more about its implications if it was positive. Harry took this time to meet his new family member. She wasn't shy and soon had him running around playing. When it was time, they found Katelyn carried in his arms and her doing a tremendous job at further messing his hair up.

Hermione had explained that the procedure mere required her to use a spell to calculate the magical reading of a person. Since the spell was a small burst of magic and since magic recognized magic, it would serve as a sort of magical charge and some consequences were expected. She explained that with this, there could be spontaneous burst of magic emitting from her but it was harmless. Hermione approached the little girl and after getting her comfortable she did some simple levitating of objects. The child didn't seem surprised which wasn't looking too well for denying her magical abilities. She'd seen or maybe done this before. She pulled her wand out and a yellow glow enveloped her. The light pulsed until it settled on a pale blue. That was a confirmation, she was indeed magical. The next two hours passed by without too much input from Harry. He let Hermione handle the talking since she could relate being muggle born herself. In that time the truth was further confirmed when Katelyn brought all her toys to air and began flying them around after watching Harry do something similar. He'd been entertaining her while Hermione spoke.

They all sat and listened intently, some of the things even surprised Harry but that wasn't necessarily saying much since Hermione had long passed his knowledge base. She told her cousin what he could expect. That while these burst of magic would continue they didn't pose a threat to him or those around her. She told him that the best way to handle this was not to demonize these events, not let her be afraid of herself. Harry caught the significant look that spread over his aunt. Hermione told them that when the time came she should be told the truth. Harry was surprised by Dudley who seemed to be taking everything in stride, even asking his own questions.

"Is it beneficial at all for her to be exposed to other magical children or should there be a separation until Hogwarts?" he asked Hermione.

If Hermione was surprised by this question she didn't let on. "What's proven to be best for the children is that they keep a normal routine. There shouldn't be any drastic changes to her lifestyle. Take it as naturally as you can. Most of the thing children learn on their own, by watching. She'll know when she's allowed to use these use these abilities and even then most of the time she won't be able to control them. They will mostly appear in times of great stress, or changes that's why a normal routine is recommended. Believe me, being born without magical parents will not negatively affect her when the time come for Hogwarts."

Once everything that needed to be said was said they moved to say goodbye. Hermione was running late to start her shift and excused herself. Harry knowing there might be some other questions stuck around and sure enough Dudley spoke up.

"Listen Harry, this is all big news, I'm not sure what to do, but if, that is, if-" Dudley managed with great hesitation so Harry cut in.

"Anything you need, let me know. Seriously, any question, anything at all let me know. I got a phone at the place I'm staying so here, for anything," he told him summoning a small piece of paper and quickly scribbling on the series of numbers he could be reached at. He knew this must be difficult after the deal that was made when he began to show burst of magic. He was panicked and maybe the hardest part was having to tell his wife.

During the whole exchange he'd been purposely noticing his Aunt's behavior. She'd stayed surprisingly silent throughout the whole ordeal. He wondered how she'd accept her grandchild now that she knew for sure. This question was answered just as he was about to sleep when he saw her scoop her granddaughter in her arms and freckle her with light kisses getting her into a fit of giggles. He knew they'd be alright.

They parted on friendly terms. Throughout the years he was indeed called back to visit. A few times to fix some broken thinks she'd levitated accidentally. Karen didn't stick around long after she learned of Katelyn abilities so it was father and daughter. When she got her Hogwarts letter many years later it was uncle Harry who maneuvered them through magical Diagon Alley. They never talked about what went on between them in their youths but it was easier to let those transgressions go, neither were completely innocent on the matter but they knew they no longer where those kids. Katelyn grew up playing with her magical cousins, they had dinner every other Sunday and James, Albus and Lily all looked up to her when they made their own trek onto Platform 9 3/4. These people became permanent fixtures in his life.

Both his friends had seen and interacted with Katelyn throughout the years. Harry admittedly never became best mates with Dudley but they were family. It was one thing he was glad for after all that family.


	4. Conversation 3: Minerva's Memories

************* I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation ****3****: ****Minerva's Memories.**

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This was one of the conversations he had never even hinted at to his two friends. It was one he had kept completely to himself all these years but now he was ready to divulge. Harry didn't even know if he'd ever actually include McGonagall in his quest for history. He debated approaching her.

After the war, she became a pivotal part of the reconstruction and her time wasn't always her own. She was now headmistress of Hogwarts and a very public figure. In the end he couldn't get away from the fact that she represented the best source of the information he sought. He once had considered other people to ask these questions to but fate never seemed to work much in his favor. First Sirius, then Lupin. McGonagall was truly one of his last sources he could turn to. Asking the questions he never had time to. He always thought it would be one of the first persons he sough out but life had a funny way of getting in the way. Soon, five years had passed and he'd never had that meeting accomplished. It was five years to the day of that dreadful final battle. He hadn't attended the annual memorial that had been held at Hogwarts grounds since its initiation. He'd attended the first one but the rest, he'd avoided. It was his first time back in some years and seeing everything it brought up so many memories. Vivid ones, more vivid than they had a right to. He could still hear the voices, smell the ruble, feel the raw magic in the air. People didn't seem to approach him as much as he thought they would. They were still very interested in him but something about his stance gave most second thoughts about approaching the hero of the Wizarding World. He'd spent most of the evening close to his friends and his wife but at the moment he was alone. He looked onto another defining feature of the grounds, the white marble grave of Albus Dumbledore. It all came back the same, he had so many question. A voice he hadn't hear approach spoke up then.

"It's hard to believe it's been six years since it was first placed there."

Harry turned, surprised and somewhat caught unawares.

"Time's funny like that," was the only thing he could bring himself to voice.

"How are you doing Harry?" McGonagall asked with her piercing gaze, so similar to his old headmaster. He briefly wondered if it was something acquired upon becoming headmaster of Hogwarts.

"It's getting better," he settled on, he didn't need to lie to her, she perhaps more than most, understood.

"I won't say it gets easier, only that it becomes more bearable."

"I try not to think about it too often and I find I can manage. But then there are times where I do, and it still knocks my breath out," he said now looking at the growing worry lines on her features.

"Have you thought anymore about what we discussed?"

McGonagall had approached him months earlier to ask him to consider a position at Hogwarts. There had been a period during his Auror training where his wounds were still too fresh and the thought of facing them nearly changed his career choice. Surprisingly it hadn't been at the beginning of the training but towards the end, right before he became officially certified. It became too real then but he kept on. She'd wanted him to consider the position of DADA, it'd always been his. She'd had trouble keeping professors in the position. It wasn't cursed as the previous professor had stayed two years, but still, they didn't stick around. Harry had seriously considered it but not for now, maybe when life had afforded him serenity of mind perhaps he could.

"I have, professor, but I can't. I'm not there yet. One day in the distant future, maybe but not at the moment. I don't think I can relive it over and over again yet."

She nodded in understanding knowing all along his answer. She was about to move on to other guests but his words stopped her.

"Actually, I wondered if you had some time to meet with me, Professor," he started.

She look over at Harry with apprehension, wondering what this could be about. "Sure thing Harry, what about, if you don't mind me asking."

"I was just doing a lot of thinking. Seems that's all I do. I guess once I look it over I can't help but notice so many things I still don't know. I was wondering if you'd indulge my questions. They're about the things we never got around to, the things I didn't get the time to ask. The things I thought I'd wait until the fate of our world wasn't on the line. Things that weren't essential in the war but that matter nonetheless."

She looked on considering him. Her gaze hard but understanding. "I imagine you mean about your parents. Outside of their story with Voldemort, aside from their place in the list of casualties?"

He nodded, grateful that she understand without him having to say it out loud.

"I must admit Mr. Potter, I'd expected this conversation much sooner than today but I've been ready nonetheless. I'll have to confirm the date but expect my owl this week." She then gave him a parting hug and moved on.

A week later he was once again before Hogwarts. After the repairs, there had been some remodeling but for the most part, the castle retained its previous charm. He stood at the entrance to the headmasters quarter, exactly as they had been. He knew the password but was silently wondering if he was indeed ready of what lay before him. He'd managed to get in without being noticed, thanks to his trusty cloak that he'd now taken the habit of wearing constantly. It wasn't out of a need to hide but he felt he got more accomplished when using it. People moved faster, didn't stare and mostly treated him as normally as he'd ever get. With a final movement he stepped up and within seconds was once again before the door. A simple knock, a response to enter and he was back again. He quickly noted that the decoration had been changed but not much. His initial glance directed him to the portrait of his old headmaster, there he was, as he'd always been, those half-mooned spectacles and knowing smile. A subtle movement towards the desk caught his eye, professor McGonagall was watching him probably since the moment he'd walked in. She motioned a hand to the seat in front of her desk and he quietly took what was to be his seat for the next hours. There was tea on a nearby table and after accepting had a small saucer and cup waiting to mark the beginning of this conversation.

"Hello Harry, I hope I find you well?" she began courteously.

"A bit anxious but I imagine that won't last."

"I'm ready when you are. What would you like to know?"

"I'm not sure what I want to ask. Mostly I want to know who my parents were. I don't have but one memory of them. I guess I want to know who they were, you were there when they were students. I learned some things about my dad and some general things but I guess what I want is the details. The little things, I want to feel like I know who they were. What were they like in the classroom, their grades, their parents in particular. I don't know anything about who the Potters were or the Evans. Just anything you can remember about them." Harry rambled out, having thought of what he was going to say since he first stepped onto the grounds.

She sat across looking at him, considering his request and trying to call to mind what her ex-pupil sought from her, memories.

"I think I can do better than tell you, I can show you," she said as she stood towards the cabinet where knew the pensieve was still housed. In her desk he now saw the line of flasks that he assumed she'd prepared for this visit.

"Wait professor. I would appreciate to see the memories you have but I can see those at any time. I want to know them through your words, your recollection. I want to know what those who knew them though," he said sheepishly considering it was a strange request. Harry knew what those memories could show, vivid images more so than people could retell verbally but that's no what he sough. He wanted to know them through the people they touched. He had every intention of seeing those memories but at the moment he wanted to know who professor McGonagall knew them as, in her own words, through her own filter.

"Very well Mr. Potter. I think I'll begin with Lily. There have been many students who have graced the halls of Hogwarts for years but as is always the case there are some students who stick out more so than others." Slowly the headmistress' gaze lingered far off recalling his mother and the first meeting. Harry prepared himself for what he was about to hear. He'd let the headmistress recount her memories of the events without interruption or prompting. He already knew some features of who they were but now was his chance to fill in some of the gaps.

"Your mother was one of those talented few. I remember sitting at the staff table as the her class of first years approached. She reminds me much of your friend, Hermione. They were similar, more so than you probably ever considered. As you know your mother was a muggle-born, but by looking at her standing confidently amongst her peers, you'd never guess. She was standing besides her home school friend, who you know as professor Snape. I can see this isn't a surprise so I'll not elaborate on that. She was there, with reddish hair with those piercing green eyes a copy of whose sit before me today. From her stance alone I knew she'd belong to my own house. Her first weeks in my class I was impressed. She was one of the few who had gone ahead and read the textbook as soon as she'd had it in her grasp. Transfiguration wasn't her strong point but nonetheless she excelled at an above average level. She didn't get the needle in that first class as your friend did but certainly not because a lack of trying. She was tenacious, ambitious, and righteous at every turn. She had an interesting group of friends. Naturally there were some from her own house but I was surprised she managed to retain her Slytherin connection until well into her later years. Potions was her forte, and Charms. She only ever got two detentions, and not surprisingly those came after meeting James. She was right-handed. She was intelligent but patient, that which spoke of maturity. She used up the entire period for exams, going over them repeatedly. She never was much a fan of flying or quidditch. She had her worrisome moments mostly due to her heritage. She also had to deal with the name calling but her group of friends were always there to protect her. Everyone who knew her, couldn't help but love her instantly. She had a soft heart for the underdog, often trying to help students who lagged behind. Her gifts weren't her own, it was shared. Naturally when the time came she was a Prefect, then eventually Head Girl."

Professor McGonagall looked over at Harry and hoped he didn't get the wrong impression about who his mother was. "I hope you don't get the impression that she was only a good student, she was so much more Harry. Kind to a fault at times but she also had a rarely tapped into temper. That which was usually directed at your father, she was a force to behold. She was all that Gryffindor stood for, loyalty, bravery, resourcefulness. Dumbledore told me of his first time meeting her and your grandparents. Their names were Margaret and Thomas Evans. I don't know much but from what he told me they were understanding when the time came to explain magic. He told me that much unlike you the revelation of magic didn't come a surprise to her. I gather that had to do with Severus's influence.

"Your father on the other hand was also memorable but for completely different reason's I'm afraid." Here Harry noticed her stance changed. Her kind eyes were now replaced by a patience worn smile. It was clear that James stance through Hogwarts had been no easy task for the staff at Hogwarts.

"From the moment he walked in, there was a definite air of mischief. From what I heard, he'd made friends on his first train ride into Hogwarts, those who would eventually become his best friends. He had a spirit about him, curious and like your mother, I'd wagered on him being in my house. Many of us were surprised that his friend Black joined him in my house table. There were many whispered things said when this was set. Many families like the Black's had a legacy for remaining within Slytherin but with time I realized the rebellious streak in Sirius. There they were, the four of them. Rambunctious he and Sirius, Remus more subdued and Pettigrew tagging along. There were the beginning of what would become the Marauders. It's strange that although their mischief managed was only rivaled by maybe the Weasley twins, I only learned the bulk of their true terror until they were outside these walls. Remus often indulged me when I was curious enough to ask. It is true that James and Sirius were always the closer of the four but they were all truly good friends. Even after what came to light after Hogwarts, whilst in school they were all close. His most common transgressions that I recall were out past curfew and misguided hexes towards fellow classmates. It's safe to say that you inherited much of your Hogwarts days disregard for rules from your father. Although it's safe to say that his adventures were in pure joy seeking and not burdened with saving the world as you often were. His fun was for pure enjoyment, he was a pureblood without the malice and prejudice but magic had always been a great part of him. He'd been told since he was young what awaited him at Hogwarts. In my time as his professor I'm sorry to say I didn't see much of him but when he had to report to me for some trouble making. What I can say is that he did mature over time. Yes, the first few years were filled with exuberance of youth. He had the untroubled and care free childhood he would have wished for you. Yes there was an excess of confidence but that diluted with the years. There was bravery in his actions, unafraid, and very loyal to his friends, much like yourself. He was righteous in his own way, he defended the wronged, a champion for good. Not adverse to throwing hexes but he had a good heart. As he matured these ideas solidified and I wasn't surprised to see him join the Order. He did it not because of your mother's heritage but because that's who he was, a champion of good. Many had suspected of his affections for your mother long before any relationship formed. It was difficult to see how they'd overcome their glaring differences but they did. With their relationship however that signaled the friendship with Severus and you've heard the rest." No matter how much she tried to describe who his parents were, she couldn't get over the fact that these mere words would never be enough to encompass the people they were. They couldn't tell him how they'd be as parents. These were just impressions of who they were as kids, they'd never tell Harry how much they'd loved him as he grew, how much they support, cheer, or console him when the time came. She moved on.

"Your grandparents, the Potter, Harold and Alice, were very indulgent towards him. He was an only child, no entirely uncommon for pure-blooded families. They spoiled him, yes, but they loved him very much. I have no doubt they would have adored you but they had passed soon after your father completed Hogwarts. I'm not familiar with your ancestors but I'm sure you can find further genealogy on them in the Ministry public records. I must say something else about your father because I'm realizing even with words I can't completely make justice of the people I knew. Even though they had a mischief streak about them in their youth, they were brilliant when they put their mind to it. I was truly astonished and fiercely proud when I learned that they had managed to became an animagus whilst in school and without any help."

"More than anything, what I feel when I remember them is unyielding pride. Pride in who they were and who they eventually became. They were good people Harry, not perfect, but good in the only sense that matters. I don't know what else I can say but if you take nothing else of value from our conversation take away that, that they loved and were loved.

As he sat across the headmistress Harry continued looking into his hands. He'd turned his gaze down early in the conversation once the tears began to well up in his eyes. Some of the things he knew but the little things he treasured. He'd long accepted their absence in his life, not having much to remember them by but in those moments he felt a true agonizing hole where his parents should have been. He wasn't angry anymore but a small part of him always wondered what it'd be like with them around. He couldn't imagine it. When he finally found a semblance of inner peace he found his voice.

"Thank you professor, thank you for telling me these things."

"It's no trouble Mr. Potter. I really hope I've been some help for you today. Are there any other questions you had?"

Harry hesitated a moment not sure how his next question would be received.

"Actually I did. It's also something I've always had more questions than answers. It's about Dumbledore." Harry said trying his hardest to ignore the fact that his portrait was a few meters away and completely within hearing distance.

"Oh Harry, I'm not sure how much I can say that you don't already know." Her gaze looked over him with a doleful expression.

"I guess I want some closure on who he was as well. It was only after he died that it became glaringly obvious that I didn't even know the man who had helped me all those years. It felt like all we'd discuss was how to keep me safe in one capacity or other. It was always about me, I never even spared a second thought to the man who I owe my life to."

"I'm sure you've heard this before Harry but don't for a minute doubt it, he loved you."

"But was that only because of my destiny. Because I needed to live to save everyone else."

"He was there because you needed him to be. Harry you need to understand the circumstances of the times. We were truly in a desperate mood with the passing of your parents. You truly had nobody else and it was a fateful miracle that the magic that saved your life afforded you a home with your relatives."

"Did nobody realize what kind of life I was living before I turned 11?"

"Don't think he didn't care for your well being Harry. He never meant for that to happen but we'd agreed to let you live a completely ignorant life until it was time. We didn't anticipate the strong objections to magic your relatives exhibited. During those time your survival was key. We were up against some of the darkest forces that had been seen in a long time. You needed his help Harry. Even with the prophecy in place many people were still afraid. It's difficult to put your survival on the words spoken in a trance by some bespectacled woman in a bar. When Dumbledore really began to understand what he we were up against it nearly broke him. He never shared his findings and I think that knowledge alone belongs to you and your two friends. It happened in the summer after the Chamber of Secrets, I'd never seen Albus like that."

Harry wondered if it was the knowledge of the Horcruxes that had troubled his headmaster that summer.

"Harry you have to understand, Albus was a very private person in personal matters. I didn't know much about him myself outside his role as headmaster. What I can say is that from that year on he dedicated his time to the cause, to researching ways to help you out. He worried for your well being but more so than you imagined. He became extremely concerned during your sixth year, he feared that too many deaths would take a toll on you. He didn't know how you would take the mounting pressures. I know you were frustrated a times with us from withholding information but truly, we thought it was for the best." McGonagall took a small pause before asking a question of her own.

"Are you still angry at him."

At these words he looked up and met her gaze.

"I've never been angry at him, not once I learned the truth. I did go through boughs of frustration but those ebbed with time. I don't think I've truly been angry at him. I just wished I got the opportunity to thank him for everything he did to help me along the way. I never got to say thank you. I feel it was the least I could do for a man who gave his life, him and so many who I never got to give a proper leave to. It's part of the revolving theme around me, unpredicted deaths. I wanted him to know that I never took it for granted, the sacrifices, the wisdom he imparted, just everything. I wanted to say that."

"I'm sure he knew Harry."

"I hope so professor. While I'm at it, I'd like to address you now professor. I know I wasn't the easiest student to traverse these halls. I know I probably could have been a better student. I also know I probably could have broken less rules. I could have done many things differently but one thing that won't change is how grateful I was for having you there. Truly professor, you helped in more ways than I can voice. For all the times I didn't say it, I'll say it now, thank you."

"Harry, that's truly not necessary," she replied with evident tears in her gaze.

"I know you, like Albus have your secrets but if you ever need anyone to talk to Mr. Potter, my office door is always open. I mean that."

With those last words spoken by the headmistress he stood and after a quick goodbye he made his way outside. With vials of memories stored in a small box he reached the door and descended down the staircase, the days events weighing heavily on his mind.

As Harry finished his account of this conversation with McGonagall he noticed the inquiring looks in his friends gazes. Thinking back he spotted several things he hadn't ever mentioned to them. They'd be sure to pick up on the teaching job offer since it was something he never got around to doing. Now, however, wasn't the time to entertain questions. He would eventually but he had to move on to the longest conversations of all of them, the one with Draco Malfoy.


	5. Conversation 4 part A: Meeting Malfoy

************* I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation 4 part A: Meeting Malfoy**

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And so Harry began recounting the longest conversation out of all of them. He knew that amongst his friends Ron still harbored some ill feelings but still, there was no turning back. He knew revealing all was key.

Perhaps one of the most difficult conversations he endured. It was very tense at first. The first steps were clearing the air of past grievances. Getting to the root of their mutual dislike. This entailed for Harry to reveal his childhood. It entailed listening to Draco's, of removing the adjective enemy from his reference to the Malfoys. The victory that day was partly due to them. It was a conversation of righting old wrongs. It had been many years since that fateful May night. In fact, before the hearth of the fireplace no longer sat two young adults but two men nearing their late 40s. Men who had grown and matured, who neither had simple beginning and each still struggled with their own demons even after all these years. But Harry was still in some respects a changed man. He learned long ago what keeping old house prejudices could do and how detrimental they can be, dangerous even. So they sat, in a neutral place, isolated from prying eyes and ears, and they conversed. They cleared hours away from everyday life. Although these conversations originally began to heal himself, they inevitably ended up working both ways, the recipients of these conversations also healed old wounds and tied up loose ends. It took a while for Harry to write those words onto that parchment and deliver the words to his childhood nemesis. At first he didn't know what to write or how to say it but in the end he went with the simple.

Malfoy,

This might come as a great surprise but I write this note in request of some of your time. There is something I wish to discuss with you and its best done in person. Let me know at your earliest convenience.

Harry Potter

P.S This conversation, if you agree to it, is probably gonna take a while so clear out a whole afternoon.

Once the request was agreed upon and a place agreed upon, they sat across from each other they began. The difficult part was agreeing on a place with privacy and neutrality and so they chose the upstairs room of the three broomsticks, with three separate charms to aide against eavesdropping. The conversation began with the first meet and they inevitably delved into their childhood. It didn't start out with awkward pleasantries or quidditch or the kids at Hogwarts but with Draco's no mess attitude.

"So potter, what is the point of this gathering? I'm assuming there is one," Draco immediately said once he set his belongings down. He was a busy man and his free time short in between, this meeting was cutting into that free time.

"So straight to the point then?" Harry acquiesced. Draco nodded his response.

"I want to talk," he said leaving his response purposely vague.

"About what," Draco immediately questioned.

Harry paused and tried to find the words that would encompass his overall purpose for this conversation. It was harder to explain in words than it was to understand in his mind. He knew from others that Draco Malfoy had certainly matured since his days at school but it was strange applying that to the person in front of him since the only reference of mind of him was the insufferable git he once was. To prevent having this conversation end before he had his answer he gave enough of the truth so as to not scare him away but also just enough to keep him interested. "I've had a long time to think about everything, and there's some questions I want answers to," he settled for.

Draco looked at him from across where he was sitting, and considered these words for a while. "If this is about the past, you're opening up things that I've long put to rest. I don't need you opening up old wounds," Draco answered on the defensive about what he assumed this was all about. It felt like this was an interrogation of sorts to him.

Harry noticed this; he didn't want a defensive Malfoy. He had no need for an argument; he really wanted to ease old rivalries. "I don't come here to argue, really Malfoy, I was just hoping that we'd be able to talk like adults. It is about the past, but in some way I only want closure. That's all I want, to get my answers and let it go."

"What do you want to know," he said still slightly on the defense with guarded measure to his features.

"I just want some answers about Hogwarts and I guess since I am meddling into your past as well, you have the same courtesy, now's your chance to answer anything you wish to ask"

Malfoy was slowly easing into the idea of this conversation. He was still cautious but Potter was right. There had been many articles and things about the life of 'the boy who has yet to die.' He knew from personal experience that most published things couldn't be relied on to be true and he was curious about some things. He nodded his consent. "Ask away," he stated simply.

"I guess my biggest question has always been why? We always had our fair share of mutual hostility but after some years it just became part of the routine. I never wondered why we hated each other, how did it start?"

"From my recollection it was a two way street," Draco reminded him.

"Yeah I know. I had my reasons to remain hostile to you. Do you want to start or shall I? I'll just start by saying that I'm not looking to hand out blame or vindicate anything, I just want to understand your point of view."

"I'm sorry to disappoint Potter, but I will not be divulging my life story to you. We can go home if that's what you were expecting."

"No, that's to what I want. I guess if you can explain why the initial hostility, why the hate for so many years. Like I said, I'm willing to explain myself as well."

"Alright Potter I concede to answering your question. You want to know why we got off on the wrong foot. I'll tell you. We'd all been told that the famous Harry Potter would be joining us mere mortals at Hogwarts that year. At least this holds true for the Wizarding world, I can't speak for the muggle side. We'd been plagued with the stories of your exploits even those who fought on the other side as my family once did. Yes, even I grew up knowing who you were although for all that was spoken of you, not much was actually known besides the facts of those event so long ago when, as a toddler you brought down the Dark Lord."

Harry sat there in silence absorbing all the words, trying to absorb in the information he never thought to ask in his youth.

"So imagine my look at meeting this celebrity. I guess there is some back story of mine required and I'll concede to willingly giving it. Just know that I will definitely be returning the favor. You know I grew up an only child of a well known pureblood family. Naturally I was pampered; use to getting things my way, being the center of attention and so being second was not something I ever had to contend with. Keep in mind that for the most part I led a normal childhood. There weren't Death Eater reunions every holiday. The ideals I grew up with are common amongst elite pure-blooded families, that's why so many of them sympathized with the Dark Lord. This was the environment I grew up in, I had no other frame of reference. Slytherin traits were and continue to be a way of life, I knew before school started that no one could compete with you for that attention so I went for the next best tactic, to befriend you. Yes Potter, when I offered my hand all those years, it was genuine, I was honestly willing to befriend you. Well as much as we Slytherins knew how to be friends."

Harry sat back, honestly surprised. He thought back to those events he spoke of when Draco Malfoy initially offered his hand. He didn't know what to think but kept on listening.

"So imagine my surprise, a boy who was used to getting what he wanted when you so publicly slighted me. For my immature mind, that was a declaration of sorts. The rest of my time would be dedicated to the retaliation of that initial offense. After some time, however that irritation was mostly gone and sad to say it, my actions were just fueled by an obsession to not be outdone. In other words, I was bullying you and your friends, mostly because it was gratifying to try to bring down the great Harry Potter and you gave a prejudice pureblood plenty of ammunition. You and your friends stood for everything I had been indoctrinated to hate; it was almost natural to regurgitate everything that had been taught to me from an early childhood about status and entitlement."

Harry chose this moment to speak up. "I think I understand from your point. It was stupid but I at least know where you're coming from." Harry said this honestly, he truly could see how the situation had been set up to pin them against each other from the start.

"Now it's your turn. Finally I can find peace for all those nights I cried myself to sleep now that I get to know why you declined my handshake," Draco added sarcastically. "You know for the boy who liked to mock death you sure could be closed minded," he finished.

"Well although you want to avoid divulging your background, I'm afraid you're going to have endure my history for my side of the story. Before that, though, I have a question to ask."

"Not fair Potter, you answer mine and then I'll answer yours," the man across chastised with hints of childlike petulance.

"I was just going to ask how much you knew about my early life, to avoid repeating information you already know." Harry stated simply.

"Oh, in that case, not much. I know what's widely known, that you were raised by muggles. I must of missed that particular issue of my prescription to your fan club magazine Potter, sorry to disappoint," Malfoy teased, with mirth evident in his smirk.

Harry laughed at this and the atmosphere calmed, no longer lingering with twinges of tension. "Well in that case I have more explaining to do. It'll be hard to explain since you grew up with magic but try to imagine my scenario back then. Imagine growing up not knowing you're a wizard. Imagine only realizing this a month before we were set to start our first term at Hogwarts."

"You can't be serious, you must have known," Draco quickly cut in, completely flabbergasted. "Surely it's common for children to experience spontaneous burst of magic. You can't have not known, how did you explain your parents' history then?" Malfoy asked confused by this confession. It was hard to imagine that the Chosen-dolt didn't know what he was famous for. Things didn't seem to add up, there must be more to his once nemesis than he ever gave a second thought to.

"It's true. I, as you know, was raised by muggles, my aunt and uncle. I was left on their doorstep the very same night my parents died. My mom's sister, my aunt and her husband took me in, I had no other family. They were muggles who feared and cast away any semblances of magic. To them, the only experience they had with magic was the negative side. They had only had the reference to death when magic was involved," Harry said feeling like he needed to defend his relatives. He didn't completely agree with their actions but he understood them more.

"They were determined to keep all semblance of normality and so they fed me a different story of my past, one in which magic wasn't in the picture. When your in that world, in that mentality, something as normal as magic to you or any other witch or wizard becomes more like fanciful dreaming than reality."

Harry had never really spoken this candidly to anyone about that time period in his past. Even with Ron and Hermione these conversations had been short, sparing most of the details. But here, with Draco, he felt a need to divulge all of it. To help Draco and himself understand, to tell him things he hadn't thought about in a long time.

"So while you like any other person in the Wizarding world knew the details about their death, the date, the place of their last stance, I knew nothing up until my eleventh birthday. I never knew what happened at Godric's Hollow that Halloween night, I never saw their graves until a few months before the final battle at Hogwarts, and I didn't even know their last resting place. While many visited those sites, built stone statues in their honor, I never knew what they stood for and eventually died for. The muggles told me my parents died in a car accident... a sort of muggle transportation device" Harry added anticipating the confused that might arise. The emotions of the situation were getting to him. He took a few moments to recompose himself.

"Any time I asked questions I was punished, they hated it when I asked questions," Harry finally finished being able to regain control of his emotions. He didn't think he'd be this upset this soon into the conversation.

"What kind of punishments?" Draco asked with a hint of curiosity hoping to dissipate the intense emotional tone that had seeped into the conversation. He might have changed the topic to avoid Potter's evident oncoming train of emotions, but Draco was still left reeling from his admissions. It was true he had his own issues with his family but he couldn't even begin to contemplate what it must have been for the Wizarding World's hero. From how he described it, it must have been an unimaginable lonely place. He would never bring himself to say these things out loud, but he could feel the twinges of regret ebbing closer to his conscious.

Harry could sense that perhaps his former nemesis would make light of the details but at this point he really didn't feel like stopping. He needed to say these things out loud, even if it was for the sake of saying them.

"Well mostly they recurred to their favorite punishment, locking me in the cupboard under the stairs/my room and no dinner. They especially like the second part; I spent most of my time hungry than anything else.

"That would explain your almost scrawny standing," Draco couldn't help but add, hoping to lighten the fact that it sounded close to neglect.

"We were 11 you git, we were all scrawny and inadequate," Harry joked back.

"Ah, so we were, except Crabbe and Goyle, they seemed to breathe pastries," he replied settling into an easy banter.

"Well I guess you're right, but it is hard to be anything but scrawny when they think starving you will prevent you from doing things like setting a snake on your cousin, or re-growing your hair magically. It was so disconcerting doing things that you had no clue how to explain, I frightened myself sometimes." Harry said looking intently down at his hands.

"You see the evidence of your magic but without knowing your background it becomes surreal. No one was there to tell me it was normal or expected, I half-imagined that most things I made up in my mind to distract the situation I lived. It wasn't all bad though, I took my revenges where I could, mostly directed at my cousin who weighed the proper weight of a small whale. Although to my constant disappointment he always retaliated, he wasn't the sharpest but he made it up with brute strength, and I mean it, he was a right brute. When no one was looking much my cousin loved to indulge in one of his favorite hobbies, using me as a punching bag along with gang of friends. Other than that, my punishments consisted mostly in doing the chores around the house no one else wanted to do, the garden, even cooking sometimes. They also enjoyed a bit of mental punishment here and there. They didn't mind reminding me that it was out of their kindness that I even had a home. They also like to work in lies about my parents, being dead beat, drunk, lazy people who brought about their own demise. If there's one thing I was never as a child was entitled or arrogant, far from it," Harry said changing the conversation again from light to being completely overwhelmed in anger. Anger he hadn't tapped into in a long time and one which he didn't know he still carried within him.

"They hoped punishment coupled with my ignorance of my heritage would stifle the magic out of me," Harry detailed feeling an inexplicable need to defend his relatives brutal actions.

"I didn't really have anyone back then, no one I was close to. School in the muggle world was difficult. I didn't know what it was like to have friends until Hogwarts; most students were scared to approach me for fear of being beaten by my cousin."

Draco took in these details, they were hard to hear but he imagined even harder having to live through. He was secretly admiring the innate character his once nemesis must have possessed to take what he did and find the strength to carry on with what life at school threw at him. He was through and through a Gryffindor with all his bravery and part of him envied him for that trait. While he himself had his share of childhood trials, they were meek compared to Potter's. It wasn't something he'd willingly confess, but at the moment he felt pity towards the world's hero although if he read him correctly, it wasn't something that would be gratefully accepted. He'd found in life, people rarely contented well with being pitied, hated or adored were manageable but nothing worse than being pitied so he stopped.

"Dam Gryffindors," Draco muttered just loud enough for Harry to hear. The words didn't come out with the venom he thought they would but more of a resigned respect towards the individual sitting across from him.

"What does that have to do with anything," Harry responded back feeling defensive that they were back to old school prejudices.

"You heard, you damn Gryffindor with all your courage and bravery, bloody fools," was all Draco cared to explain. His facial expression stated simply that he wasn't going to elaborate and Harry couldn't be sure but it almost felt like a compliment in a weird convoluted way.

"Well needless to say that when I was told I was a wizard I had no clue," Harry continued on with his story. "I'd survived on hand me downs from my older cousin and now I was told I had a vault full of gold with my name on it. I'd never even seen a goblin until the day I went to Gringotts and to Diagon Alley to do school shopping. Things were changing, things I had no clue existed were being revealed and this new world only made me question my sanity at first. It was surreal to be introduced to magic like that. I'd lived a life without knowing anything. I was caught unaware. And here I was told I'd be starting a new school where once again I'd feel undoubtedly out of place. The day you met me at Madam Milkins was my first true introduction into the Wizarding world. It was all new to me, those were the first set of robes I ever wore. I had a month before school started to try to catch up to everything I missed out on. To tell you I had to ask Mrs. Weasley who was a stranger at that time how to get on the platform." Harry remembered his panic at the minutes inched towards eleven o'clock and he feared that his greatest fears that this was all a big hoax would be realized. He laughed at his own reaction back then, realizing how far he'd come.

"And so we get to that fateful day. You see, it was Hagrid who first told me my story. When he explained everything about who I was and why I was famous he also gave me a brief explanation on what and who Voldemort was, and what it was the war that claimed my family was about. He explained the role of blood status and he told me what a pureblood was. So on that day I had just spent time with Ron on the train, a pureblood but for all likeliness, a blood traitor in the eyes of Wizarding society, he was more like me, living a life of scarcities. It was then that you approached us before we were to be sorted, before we even knew that we were supposed to be house enemies. From the perspective of a boy who had to endure a life without so many things, not just material but a family, what you represented in that moment wasn't something I could easily accept. I was Harry Potter but I didn't know what that weighed in the Wizarding world. I felt completely overwhelmed thinking people expected me to have some great power when the only experience life had given me was on how to survive through extended periods of hunger. Your speech about some Wizarding families being better than other might have worked if I in any way believed myself to be better than anyone else. At that time I felt inadequate with huge expectations that I didn't think I'd be able to live up to."

Malfoy sat across listening and dissecting all that Harry had just told. It was hard to believe that the boy who lived started from there. "I guess you were right, we were destined to hate each other from the start," were the only words Draco could bring forth.

All Harry could to do was shrug and agree. "It seems like it."

As he sat there dissecting everything he had been told, Draco thought back to all those years they spent at Hogwarts, trying to add this historical context to the memories he had of the Boy-who-lived. This didn't prove to be helping; his mind was having trouble getting around the fact that life hadn't been fair for either of them. Instead he decided to side track with questions he was curious about but weren't entirely the main preoccupation of his mind.

"Where you seriously that unprepared? I wonder why Snape made you out to be the most insufferable arrogant git like he did," Draco asked.

"Yeah, I never understood where he got the whole thing about me strutting about the place. Then I found out he was in school in my dad and let's just say there was some mutual dislike between them. It seems Snape couldn't separate between us and took his out past frustrations on me. Apparently I looked too much like my dad for his liking. Although I'm no longer angry about it, I guess I just understand him more."

_to be continued_

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_**-(This conversation is the longest so I cut it into sections. It's written out, I just have the editing to do. I'll be posting them up as I finish reviewing them. I don't know the total number of parts its going to have but it's the one I enjoyed writing the most.)**_


	6. Conversation 4 part B: Meeting Malfoy

***************** I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation 4 part B: Meeting Malfoy**

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_...continued..._

"Never the easy way with you Potter huh?" Draco managed after a silent pause. There was much new information to process.

Harry on the other seated across from him was also busy with his own thoughts. "Seems that way."

"Was it true about all the stories of your exploits" Draco wondered out loud looking for a change of topic.

"There's been a lot said."

"Well some of them sound mad but then again, as I recall it, you three certainly had a knack for trouble." This was something that had always genuinely interested Draco, he wondered how much of the school gossip was accurate. It was strange to think that somebody in the same year could be out doing some of the things they were rumored to have been involved in.

"Umm… What parts are you specifically referring to? There were a lot of rumors going on then and now about what we did," Harry replied hesitantly having often been asked this question. It's not like he didn't want people to know but for a long time he held onto those memories like secrets. He treasured them, not wanting them to be contaminated by the ruthlessness of having them spread from mouth to mouth. He still had trouble with this, like Dumbledore, he had a knack of wanting to keep things close to his chest. It was something that frustrated him about his once headmaster but with age he attained a new respect and attraction to do the same.

Draco not seeming to notice his hesitation continued, "Was it true that your first meeting with the Dark Lord was during our first year?"

"Well in a way, yes. It was more like Quirrel infested with part of Voldemort." Harry tried to answer always finding difficult to explain in simple words what exactly it was he faced on that fateful day.

Draco carried on with his question wanting more details, finally being able to feed his long held curiosity about certain events.

"The rest was more widely spread, tell me if I get anything wrong. In second year it was the younger Weasley, your wife as I understand it, the one responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets, you found the entrance to the chamber of secrets and killed the basilisk. In third year, well nothing really happened except for the Dementors haunting the school looking for Sirius Black. In fourth year you won the Tri-Wizard Tournament and at the end saw the Dark Lord rise again and managed to escape with your life. In fifth year you battled him along with Death Eaters which included my father in the ministry," Draco ticked off these events seemingly having no issue discussing the downfall brought to his father because of him. "Then during sixth year, you insufferably kept following me. And we all know what happened afterwards although if sources are to be believed, and I doubt them, you also broke out of Gringotts in a dragon after that quick visit to the Manor," Draco finished off leaving the majority of events purposely out since they were both there for the final moments.

Harry looked on wondering if this was an accurate reflection of what the public knew. This was surprising since he realized there were many gaps of his exploits and Draco had once been a Death Eather. This was much missing from the story Malfoy retold and he was in a position to have heard more. He must have guarded his secrets more closely than he thought. Or maybe everyone wanted to move on after it was all over and looking back never helped with that cause. In any regards, he decided to treat Malfoy with the truth.

"Most is true but there's way more to it than that. I promised the truth and I'm going to stick to that but realize this entails my whole Hogwarts history. I'm going to start at with the earliest and move from there. During our first year it was Voldemort working through Professor Quirrell who I met. He needed a position in Hogwarts because he knew inside the castle walls Dumbledore had hidden he Philosopher's Stone. During those times he was weak and had no body, he'd turned to drinking Unicorn's blood to sustain a form. The stone he sought would provide him a better option.

"Was it him that we came across that night in detention, in the Forbidden Forest?" When Harry heard about the Unicorn blood it triggered a memory. He didn't realize that it'd been him who he ran from in fright that night.

"Yes, it was. So he set after the stone and after a series of foolish decisions on my part I found myself alone against him. Even if I hadn't been there, it'd be hard to imagine he'd gotten to it. Dumbledore was very clever in its protection."

"Just exactly how did he hide it for curiousity's sake. Did he stick it under a dragon?"

"Ha ha, close, it was actually a large three-headed dog."

"You're kidding, is that what was in that forbidden corridor?"

"Yes but it wasn't only protected by that. There were other obstacles set up by other professors. We had a hard time getting through them and I wouldn't have succeeded without Ron and Hermione. It's underrated how much that statement is true. They were a bigger help than most ever give credit to.

"So that was it then, just an obstacle course?"

"Well yes and no. The final obstacle is where Dumbledore was sure he'd meet his match. Have you ever heard of the Mirror of Erised?" This was essential to explaining Dumbledore's brilliant plan in protecting the stone.

"I haven't," Malfoy replied simply. "What is it?"

"Simply put, its a curious magical object. It is a mirror but it doesn't show a mere reflection. What it shows the person who stands before it is what they most desire in the world. As Dumbledore once explained it to me he said that a truly happy man could stand before it and witness only his reflection for he is perfectly happy."

"So how did the mirror hide the stone?"

"That was the brilliant part. Quirrell stood before it and saw what he desired most, himself holding the stone. However, the stone would only present itself to he who wanted the stone but not to use on himself. It appeared in my pocket. Quirrell tried to get it but some of the magic that protected me that fateful Halloween night so many years ago prohibited him from placing his hands on me. That night I won."

Draco listened to this and precessed it in silence. There was always so much more to the enigma that was Harry Potter. He'd endured many things, but what him admirable was he did so in silence, a true martyr the scar-head. Unsure what else to say about those events he wondered something else. "What did you see when you stood before the mirror?"

Harry smiled quietly to himself. Thinking back to what had been to reveled and became an obsession of sorts. His hearts desire as he recounted it to Dumbledore. With more perspective and time he again wondered what perhaps would have been revealed to Dumbledore as his heart's desire. "Back then, when I stood before the mirror what I saw was myself surrounded by my parents and other older faces, familiar in features. A family I guess was my heart's desire at the age of 11."

Draco had no comeback for that. It was maddening because at heart what had been revealed to Harry I the mirror was deeply noble. He himself at that age probably would have seen a new broom, or some new trinket. It was maddening because it was something he'd knew he took for granted, family. Most of the time he found them irritating and found that the less time he spent with them the best at least for the older generations. As for his children, he did enjoying spending time with them.

"So what else did I get wrong?" Draco finally spoke up breaking from his short reverie into his family dynamic.

"Well in second year it was Voldemort through Ginny who initially opened the Chamber of Secrets. Also it was the year others discovered I was a Parseltongue. I kept hearing voices in the corridors and it wasn't until later that I realized it was the Basilisk I was hearing. And it was also the first and only time I saw the Slytherin common rooms. I don't know how you guys coped with the darkness and no windows.

"How and why the hell did you find that out?" Draco asked surprised by the turn of events. This was completely new to him and the sheepish look on Potters face made him believe it was about him.

"Well back when I was young and my hero complex was on high alert, we kind of made it our mission to try and figure out who was opening the chamber and we had our suspects," Harry said embarrassed thinking back to his evidence for suspecting the Slytherin.

Draco took notice, "You actually thought it was me?" he asked not half believing they actually did.

"Well there were good arguments to support our suspicions. Like I said we were young and impatient and back then I'll admit I had a tendency of meddling and impatience so we just had to figure it out. So during second year we came up with a plan, well Hermione did and we carried it out. She brewed the Polyjuice Potion-"

"A second-year Granger brewed the Polyjuice Potion? That's really advance, it's Newt level!" Draco was just now realizing how much he had underestimated the bumbling Gryffindors. He didn't give them nearly enough credit, no one did and that, perhaps was the key to the Dark Lords eventual downfall.

"Well you know Hermione, always the academic. It was tough getting the ingredients, Snape almost caught us going through his stash. Once brewed we got the hair from our intended victims and set out plan in motion."

"Who was your intended victims?" Draco asked still trying to put the pieces together.

"Crabbe and Goyle."

"What? When, How?" Draco ran through all the interrogatives. Not needing to ask but running thought the indignation.

"I told you, we had to make sure it wasn't you that was opening the chamber. We didn't obviously but it was that night after dinner during the Christmas Holidays. We got kind of lost getting to your common rooms. I don't know if you saw something was off."

"I remember, you two ran off. I asked Goyle and Crabbe about it but didn't know what I was talking about. I didn't give it a second thought since they weren't the sharpest." Draco thought back, relishing in what true friendship was. Here he was talking about Crabbe and Goyle but he never had the type of friendships Potter had. None of his friends would have ever gone to those lengths for him. It was something to be truly envious of. The loyalty they showed to risk so much for a friend. It wasn't something he could relate to at that age.

"Well yeah it was a gross experience but we got our answer. It wasn't you. Through a lot of noising around we found the entrance and I headed down with only Lockhart and Ron. Dumbledore had been out that night as I recall. Oh and by the way, if you ever wondered, he was a complete fake. His only proficiency was memory charms, needed them to take credit for other's deeds."

Draco scoffed. It had long been evident that the DADA professor didn't have any of the skills he wrote about.

"Once there after some manouvering a tunnel collapsed, Lockhard lost his memory and I again was left alone to fave Voldemort. Well a version of him brought to life by a diary Ginny had gotten her hands on. Also there was the huge snake. With a lot of help and the Gryffindor sword I made it with my life and rest was soon resolved. People were unpetrified and I guessed the source of the diary," he finished looking to see if Draco reacted. It had been his father after all who placed it in Ginny's hands.

Draco, however chose not to reply anything. He didn't need to say anything since his father's sins weren't his own. It wasn't as if his father and he spent the summer months planning elaborate schemes against Gryffindors.

Realizing Malfoy wasn't going to respond he moved on.

"There was also so much more to third year as well. It was the year I met Sirius, my godfather, the year he escaped from Azkaban. Everyone though he betrayed my parents when in fact it was Pettigrew. In fact from what you hinted at me that year, you thought so too. That year the Marauders reunited, my dad's old friends from school, Lupin, Sirius, and Pettigrew. It was the year I learned to cast a Patronus charm. Hermione and I were actually responsible for setting Buckbeak loose and also Sirius Black who had briefly been captured at Hogwarts by the Ministry. He was minutes away from getting a Dementor's kiss. Not to mention an insufferable git got deservedly slapped in the face by someone very dear to me,"ending his explanation with a laugh.

"I thought as much, and yes it was definitely deserved" Draco replied, revealing along with it his involvement in the dark side. It was how he knew where Sirius true loyalties had always belonged and the betrayal of Peter Pettigrew. Although at the time he approached Potter back then, he thought the general story was true. It was what he'd heard at home, before he'd ever been introduced into Death Eater information.

"Did you ever find out why it was the Dementors affected you so much. I know I gave you a hard time about it then but it was part of the act. There went Potter again, not even being able to react normally to a Dementor. It's like you always had to be the special case for everything. Quite annoying actually," Draco did wonder what could have prompted that reaction. It wasn't a picnic but he'd learn enough about them to have a theory as to why they affected him so. He wanted the truth.

"Yeah I did find out," Harry started running a hand from his neck into his hair, a sign of reluctance. "The way Lupin explained it he told me that the Dementors make us relive our darkest memories and that since I true terrors in my past experiences, every time they got near, it was like being there all over."

"What specifically did you relive, if you don't mind my asking," showing the first signs of empathy realizing this might be an extremely personal question. He figured since he was already meddling he might as well.

"Uh- sure, I don't mind, it's just no one's ever asked. But the first time I saw a Dementor I relived the day my parents died. Their final moments in Godric's Hollow. I heard my mom begging for my life, then her screams and I fainted after that." Harry still felt a chill run though his back remembering that sick feeling.

"I guess it's never been a picnic being Harry Potter,"Draco said hoping this conveyed that could sympathize with him.

"No, it hasn't." Harry didn't want the conversation to get stuck at that and moved it along to other topics. "Also Remus, or Professor Lupin was a werewolf and we almost got Snape along with ourselves attacked by him that night," Harry added.

"Yeah, I found that out later about him being a werewolf," Draco replied "bloody stupid having him teach students. How any of us made it out alive from that school will always be a mystery. I have a question. How exactly did you manage to help a wanted convict escape from the ministries grasp. It's something I heard discussed later on amongst Death Eaters but no one was ever sure. Pettigrew retold the events but from where he left off, Sirius was all placed to get the Dementor's Kiss."

"You won't believe me when I tell you," Harry warned but only as a precaution for he had every intention of telling him.

"I'll be the judge of that," Draco challenged back.

"During third year, Hermione took on more classes than the rest of us," Harry began.

"That's not necessarily earth shattering Potter, that's the definition of Granger."

"Well let me finish. She was taking so many classes, Professor McGonagall had to request a Time Turner from the ministry so Hermione could attend all her classes." Harry stopped there noticing the expression on Draco's face. He had just taken a sip of his tea and seemed that it was going right back out. After a few spurts and coughs and finally clearing his throat Malfoy spoke up.

"You're kidding! Granger had something like that in her hands and she used it to take more classes?! She really wouldn't have known fun if it hit her on the face," he finished secretly admiring the witch's intellect.

"Well not just for class. That's how we were able to save two innocent lives that night. And don't give me that look, Buckbeak was innocent," Harry added jokingly seeing the mock indignation on Malfoy's face.

"I'll concede that my younger self would have done well by listening to instructions that day. So that's how you guys did it then, a Time-Turner. I never would have guessed. Just like that, you went back and everything was fixed?"

"Well it was more difficult than that. Time traveling is a tricky thing and we had to avoid beeing seen. It was a headache and miracle that we succeed that night. Mostly we made it out because of Hermione's quick thinking. Ron sat that one out, he got injured." Now reliving that story it was Harry's turn for a question about something that always baffled him.

"So what was your problem with Hermione, or was she just a victim by proximity?"

"It was partly that she was part of the Golden Trio but it wasn't the whole reason. I never actually knew what it meant to call somebody a "mudblood", it was something I heard. I didn't understand the ramifications at that age. But most of the cause of lies with a small crush I was harboring for the insufferable know-it-all bushy-haired bookworm that she was," Draco willingly confessed for an unknown reason.

"No way!" exclaimed Harry. He couldn't believe it but it made sense to finally see the reasons behind the actions. "Hermione will never believe that, damn and I didn't get that in writing, she'll think I've gone mad," Harry continued his ramblings.

Draco laughed, it was getting easier to do so but the absurdity of it all struck him. Imagining what would be of Granger once she heard, he kind of wanted to be there when she found out. A resolve was forming in his mind.

"I might be able to validate your statement," Draco began.

"What do you mean," questioned Harry, not knowing where Malfoy's thoughts were headed.

"Well this conversation has brought up a lot of things from my past and I'm becoming aware that there might be my own conversations that need to be held. I might look up Granger, mostly to apologize for some of my past deeds. They've weighed heavily for all these years. You may be onto something with all this Potter."

"I won't discourage or encourage you, all I can say is make sure you're ready. I've seen several people with this and found that I've not always been ready to let some things go. If anything just make sure you're honest, if not with anybody else at least be honest with yourself," he finished sounding more Dumbledore-like than he wanted to.

After a small silence then Harry decided to moved on.

"Fourth year was where the real changes began. That year I really didn't enter my name in the Goblet of Fire. Moody wasn't actually Moody during the whole year, he was a Death Eater long believed to be dead, Barty Crouch (son of Mr. Crouch) under the Polyjuice potion. He had been placed there to make sure I made it to that final and that I placed my hand on the trophy first. He didn't count on my noble side and the price for that was Cedric's life. I did see Voldemort rise with help of my own blood and still have the scar," Harry stated lifting his left arm sleeve to reveal the scar that he'd carried all this time. "I guess that marked the official end of my childhood, it changed everything. Everything moved up a level, I knew I'd stepped into a world that would no longer consider me being underage as a reason to back down. Those were dangerous times unlike I'd faced before."

"Things changed for all of us Potter. My father told me of the events that night. You left off some details. Like the fact you went wand to wand up against the Dark Lord. You actually dueled him and got away with you life. I remember how panicked many were, you weren't suppose to have made it out alive that night. I hadn't been brought into the fold completely by that year but things were moving toward that way quickly. I heard the plan to shun you out, make you seem unstable, discredit you and I felt fear. I feared your resolve would fall, that it'd be too much." Draco admitted not feeling an ounce or remorse or embarrassment for revealing that.

"Some days I really wanted to, things didn't get easier from then on, they just got harder and harder. I didn't know you cared Malfoy," Harry finished hoping he would take the bait and hit him with a comeback.

"Believe it or not, there were many on the Dark side who were secretly championing for you to succeed. Once they saw what the Dark Lord's wrath could entail many wanted out but knew this wasn't a subscription you could simply cancel. Our lives as much as your were always in danger." Draco answered again with the truth knowing Harry wanted to lighten the mood but wanting him to understand that things were never black and white.

… to be continued...

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**_-(There's still a lot of material. This is a short section but I'm trying to find the best places to cut them off.)_**


	7. Conversation 4 part C: Meeting Malfoy

***************** I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation 4 part C: Meeting Malfoy**

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_...continued..._

"That next summer saw the fruition of Voldemort's plan to discredit me. We also had to deal with Umbridge at Hogwarts. I don't even think Snape liked her which is surprising because he sided with most anything that resulted in me getting in trouble. At least there was some revenge having her carried off by the centaurs." Harry said thinking back to that blissful moment of payback.

"That year is when we got introduced to the Order of the Phoenix. I also had a bit of an adolescent tantrum, they were keeping me out of the loop."

"A bit pretentious don't you think Potter?" Malfoy interceded with laughter in his tone.

"It was frustrating back then. Nobody would tell me anything, though I felt entitled to know. For all those years I'd always been in the middle of everything, I didn't take well to being left out. They wouldn't induct me into the Order."

"So you had to go and make your own secret society for good? Really Potter, seems kind of dictatorial for you."

"It was Hermione's idea to start the whole thing. You won't believe me but it was just a way to supplement Umbridge's severely lacking lessons. But yes, in the end what we had was own secret society of students, Dumbledore's Army. You're a terrible git for leading Umbridge to us, you know that."

"Haha, well that was too easy. Father always had high connections in the Ministry and it never hurts to be close to people in high places. Some of our best days as Slytherins were lived under her reign."

"Well your house was the only one enjoying it. It was a strange year to say the least. Later that year Voldemort baited me to the ministry where we were met by the Death Eaters only to realize it was all a trap and I had to watch as another person I loved died," he finished dejectedly remembering his godfather Sirius.

"How the hell did you get away with so much? That was one thing we never found out, most thought you apparated away," interjected Draco quickly not wanting to delve too quickly in his family's involvement in Potter's sufferings.

"Hermione would thrash _Hogwarts, A History_ at your face for insinuating such a thing," Harry joked, practically hearing Hermione's response in his head. "She'd probably quote word for word something or other about not being able to apparate in or out of Hogwarts grounds. But to the point, we flew there, on thestrals" he finished knowing how ludicrous it all sounded.

"Why did you even go Potter? How did they manage to bait you? I mean you practically ran into their arms?" Draco finished frustration evident. It was so absurd that his plan even worked but to walk willingly to his enemy's hands, what had motivated him to do such a stupid thing. He'd heard about it later when he himself was inducted as a Death Eater.

Harry was reeling, more things he had to explain and weren't widely known. "Did you know about my connection with Voldemort?" he asked hoping to gauge how much he had to reveal.

"We knew, but that was mostly knowing that there was a connection, we didn't really know how it worked," Draco said hating his past for having to reveal himself as a 'we' when he referred to Death Eaters.

"Well basically it was a mental connection. At first it started with a slight twinge at my scar that escalated to pain emanating from my scar. That connection grew with time and soon, under duress I could get glimpses of what was going on at Voldemort's end. Not just images but also his general moods and that was what led to that night at the ministry. He knew how much Sirius meant to me as the only parent figure I had, and baited me by showing him being held at the ministry. And then of course I got into my stupid hero complex and had to dash out and walk right into the trap. I'd say I don't blame myself anymore for his death but that isn't completely true."

"Fifth year was when the nightmares started and I mean that literally. I'd always get these dreams, flashes, images of doors and corridors. It was Voldemort using the connection to show me to the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. Mind you this is all going down at the same time I had to deal with Umbridge and the whole Wizarding world branding me as an attention-seeking liar. It wasn't easy."

As Draco heard his class mate he noticed that phrase repeated once more. If Potter's life story needed a title, that would be it, 'It wasn't easy.' It seemed to be the central theme on which his life was scripted.

Harry carried on, unaware of Draco's musings.

"From the images I knew there was something there he wanted that the Order was guarding. One night I got images of one of the protectors being attacked. It turned out it wasn't just a dream, it had happened. So when later on in the year I saw images of Sirius being tortured and held at the ministry, I didn't think to double guess it.

"You acted exactly as he expected you to. So if he took over your mind, couldn't have tortured you or invaded your mind?" Draco asked trying to come to terms with this new information.

Harry smiled. Love, he remembered Dumbledore's choice word to explain why Voldemort could no longer take over his mind. He went with an easier explanation without going into terms of souls, "he couldn't stand being in my head while I was grieving as I was, it was an emotional state that he couldn't stand being near."

After a lengthy pause the conversation moved on to heavier topics. This was getting to the crux of the matter, the rest had been mere wading pools, they were now diving in deep to things they thought would never have to be revisited. To the darkest days they went.

"And now we get to sixth year whereas you mentioned I practically stalked you although I was right in the end. I surprise myself sometimes with how good my instincts are," Harry stated alluding to Malfoy's status as Death Eater at the time.

"Yes although I wouldn't recommend it as a career, the stalking, it was too obvious at times," Draco said avoiding the main point making light of the circumstances.

"But nonetheless, I had my reasons to be suspicious although most of that was laced with my previous hatred to you," he could only honestly state waiting for Draco to take the hint that it was he who now had some confessing to do.

"Alright Potter, don't need to be so subtle, it looks like my time has come to confess my side of the story about that year. I never wanted the Dark Mark but here it is," he said placing his own hand over his left forearm. "I found myself trapped in a situation I couldn't handle and couldn't find a way out of. Most people maybe would have sought-after a way out but I was in way too deep. My whole family, my home, it was all right in the middle of Voldemort's grasp. I took the mark to keep my family alive. When I finally realized what my family had been a part of all those years there was no room but for obedience. You were fighting your own battles and I had to deal with the backlash of Voldemort not getting what he wanted. You don't want to be at either end, by the way." Draco was breathing harder. It'd felt overwhelming allowing these words that rang true out in the open. He continued uninterrupted.

"I took the Mark and at first I was in denial and foolish enough not to mind, never really knowing what it entailed. I'd held on to my childish ideas about blood and status but when the truth of the cause was revealed I couldn't turn back. At first part of me hoped to restore my father's blunder at the ministry and get back on good standing but I was deluding myself, there was no good standing in the Dark Lord's eyes. My sheltered and privileged life had come to an end. Then he gave me that task, which in itself was almost the end. To be told to kill or be killed is something I'd never wish upon my worst enemy, which funnily enough was once you," he finished hoping to end it with a happier note.

"Dumbledore and Snape knew all along," Harry said finding it the only thing he could bring himself to say.

"I never did find out, was Snape really on your side?" he asked wanting to know if his godfather was more than he let on.

"Yes, he was double-double crossing or something like that," he finished his absurd sentence.

"I don't know how he did it. To be able to be that convincing, not many could lie like that. Honestly being around Voldemort a long time wasn't an easy experience."

A silence grew around them, Harry was contemplating Snape's unmatched bravery and Malfoy was still contemplating his part in this important part of Wizarding history.

"That curse by the way, where did you learn it, I thought it kind of dark for you Potter."

"You can thank Snape for that one. A curse of his own invention. I ended up with his old Potions book. That's how I did so well in Slughorn's class. I followed his instructions. I was obsessed with that book, he wrote everything down. That one was written on the sideline, it said 'for enemies', so I took the suggestion. Although, I regretted it the moment I saw what it did."

"Don't be too sorry Potter, I maybe didn't deserve it for what I'd done to you but I did deserve it for a vast number of thing I had done or was planning to do."

"So this brings us to our 6th year. Most of the events of that year you're aware of. The Ministry finally admitted that Voldemort had once again risen to power. It wasn't a busy year as far as my normal activity of rule breaking. It was a year mostly dedicated to preparing mentally to face Voldemort. The year ended with the timely death of Dumbledore," Harry finished knowing Malfoy would wonder at his choice of words.

"I never though a beacon like Dumbledore could be brought down. I was there by the way," Harry finished finally being able to look up at Draco's expression. He met somber eyes, with evidence that those days also haunted him.

"I thought I could do it, I thought the fear of my own family's demise would in the end be enough to motivate me but no, it doesn't work like that." Draco began his part of this story.

"For most of that year I busied my mind with planning, I thought that if I just focused on the small, I'd forget the big picture I was working for. Those were some of my darkest days but also where I learned who I was. It figures you'd be there too," Draco finished with some light returning to his eyes.

"Yeah I was there, we'd just gotten back, but of course you knew he'd left that day didn't you?"

"Yes, I'd been watching Dumbledore for a while, I knew he'd left to Hogsmeade that afternoon. My plan was set in motion, I no longer had an excuse not to execute it and I was under a lot of pressure to move on with it. So I did, hoping at every turn that it would fail, that we'd be found out but also hoping we wouldn't. It's a strange force, self-preservation. And I watched and waited, there at the Astronomy Tower as you arrived although at the time I thought he was alone. Your Army of do-gooders intercepted us, trying to stop us, figures you'd have some of your own prepared. But still my plan worked, I had Dumbledore there, wand-less and at my mercy. I saw those knowing eyes and knew I'd never be able to go through with it. For a second I thought of taking his offer, of accepting his protection but that moment came and passed. Snape came and carried out what my family deemed me too weak to do. I still don't know how you say he was yours after that," Draco looked on frustrated seeming to realize there was so much he never really understood.

"What happened after that?" Harry asked wanting to know more of how the other side reveled in the consequences of that night.

Draco looked on but conceded an answer, "the general consensus that night was of success but I was still personally deemed a failure, my life was spared because the planning had been so well carried out but my family was still in shaky ground."

A small pause ensued while Draco found the words to continue retelling how his life ended in hell.

"That summer began my sentence in prison. My home became a headquarters of sorts for the Dark Lord. When September came along, I wasn't at Platform 9 3/4. Mostly because I couldn't stand the mere thought of having everyone there see me and see the person who killed Dumbledore. I didn't issue the curse but by my hand he saw his end."

"You didn't kill Dumbledore," Harry deadpanned. He had little regrets but one of them was inadvertently letting Draco carry this unnecessary burden with him. He'd reveal it all to him but for now they need more of the story to set the necessary backdrop.

"You don't need to do that. I know my part and have learned to live with it. Not every action is an excuse to deliver your noble gestures Potter," Draco answered still not completely understanding.

"I'm not sprinkling you with my good deeds, it's the truth, I'll reveal it further on in our story" Harry simply stated with no ounce of dishonesty in his features.

Draco looked on and considered what more they had to delve into. The moment grew into another long pause. Harry trying to gather his thoughts and Malfoy trying wonder at the excuse that Potter could provide to absolve him from blame.

This second pause was even longer than the first but they couldn't stop. Not now when there was much revealed and even more yet to find out. The hardest trials and their worst days left to be opened once more.

" And so we arrive to the beginning of the end, what should have been our seventh year but which neither of us was present to witness," Harry began.

"With Dumbledore gone, the Order was really on the ropes. We knew the Ministry was losing its footing and soon would be under Voldemort's reign. It was a tough summer. I knew from the day of Dumbledore's funeral that I would not be returning to Hogwarts."

Draco interrupted here unable to wait for the topic to start up and deciding to prompt Potter into what he wanted to hear. "What did you do, nobody knew where you three went but everyone assumed you just went into hiding."

"Is that what everyone assumes?"

"Well no, word from the trials after it all ended was that you were doing research and looking for some sort of weapon to defeat the Dark Lord," Draco replied.

"Ok so that's a citizen's reply but what did an ex Death Eater hear about those missing days?" Harry asked noticing a small grimace at the mention of his past title.

"Honestly, the Dark Lord had a habit of keeping his plans close to him. He hardly let even his inner circle into his inner workings. The others and most of the inner circle arrogantly thought that you went into hiding to save your own skin. Personally I suspected you were up to something more irritatingly noble. You didn't seem like the type to run from his problems," Draco finished leaving his once schoolmate baffled at the blunt honesty he employed in those few sentences.

"I always had some resentment towards Dumbledore, mostly because he like to keep secrets, I never liked being kept out. There are threads of truth in each of those things you mentioned but nobody but Ron, Hermione and I know what really transpired during those months or what our mission was. I didn't notice until much later but I too got into that habit of keeping things close the heart. I promised to be truthful and I will but realize that there are reasons why I didn't want the whole Wizarding public to know all the details."

"This sounds serious, am I going to have to vow secrecy to find out?" Draco wondered out loud.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary once you hear it all," Harry said.

"So what is the big secret, if you don't mind my asking. You seem to enjoy building up this suspense and I hope it's worth it," Draco said trying to again maneuver the conservation to a lighter tone after so much somberness.

"Ok so this is probably new to you but in 6th year I took special classes with Dumbledore," Harry began, deciding that this was the best place to start.

"I knew you spent an abnormally large amount of time with him, more so than a headmaster is expected to, I figured there was something he was preparing you for. I told you I had to keep an eye out for him," Draco said surprising Harry.

"Right, well in those classes Dumbledore hoped to sufficiently prepare me to face Voldemort."

"He taught you to duel?," Draco said with hints of excitement at the prospect of being tutored by one of the best.

"I thought that at first, but no. Most of the time we were standing before a pensieve. It was geared to get me to understand better my opponent. The memories he showed me changed the way I saw Voldemort and helped me understand him and in a way helped me defeat him."

"That doesn't sound nearly as exciting," Draco cut in again.

"It wasn't at first but I understood the importance. The memories Dumbledore was able gather were a feat in it in themselves. He showed me Voldemort's most complete story including his origins when he was still referred to as Tom M. Riddle. I found out about his mother, grandfather and uncle, forgotten and destitute but living and clinging onto the only thing they had left, their ideals and pride at being descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Dumbledore showed me how he came to guess that his mother poisoned a muggle she fell for with a love potion and how that resulted in Tom Riddles' birth. How his mother grew remorseful at holding him against his will and having to suffer his abandonment soon after she released him from the love potion. He told me of his mother's death soon after his birth and Riddle's path into and orphanage."

Draco listened on, half believing what he was hearing. Potter was right, things looked so much different under this lighting. He felt twinges of frustration of not ever knowing who it was his family had sacrificed so much for. His head was still buzzing but he needed to hear more so he signaled for him to continue.

"He showed me his personal meeting and his first impression of meeting the boy who would soon arrive at Hogwarts. He said he was weary of the boy but at that moment did not suspect that he would grow to be one of the most feared wizards in the history of the magical world."

"He then told me-", this was it, Harry was having a hard time getting it all into words, but they were the ones that really mattered. Draco did a good job and left him the silence necessary to do this, seeing that the next words might turn his world on its head.

"He then told me a theory, a theory as to why Voldemort was able to escape death after our first encounter."

"Did you guys really just go out on a theory?" Draco said unbelieving, unable to fully wrap his head around the fact that it was only a theory.

"Well it was Dumbledore's guess, and his ideas usually prove right," Harry said with some mirth replaying another old conversation with the old headmaster.

"But yes, at that time it was merely guess work, very well placed conjectures, and heavily researched theories. It was murky work but his ideas, I repeat, were usually right."

Harry took yet another pause.

"We've sat here for three hours Potter, and you have yet to say something really world shattering, I'm sure whatever you have to say-"

"Have you ever heard of a Horcrux?" Harry interjected deciding to plunge right in. The time for double guessing was passed.

_...to be continued..._

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**_-(still more to come... hang in there)_**


	8. Conversation 4 part D: Meeting Malfoy

***** I don't own anything relating to Harry Potter. All recognizable characters belong to the original author, JK Rowling.*****

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**Conversation 4 part D: Meeting Malfoy**

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_...continued..._

Draco looked on contemplating. Not letting his inner thoughts reflect on his exterior. He had heard the word in passing but couldn't place it. He heard it only in reference as Dark Magic but never thought to look it up.

"I've heard the word but beyond its reference to Dark Magic I don't know anything about it," Draco said deciding for the truth.

"Well, best that you didn't try to look it up, you wouldn't have found any material on it. It's been removed from public access. Although if you do need any reference to Dark Magic, I can reference you to Hermione, she attained a disturbing amount of knowledge on that subject during our travels," he finished jokingly, surprised at himself for being able to treat those days with that light banter.

"So what exactly is a horcrux and what does it have to do with the story," Draco said wanting to get back to the conversation.

"In the simplest form, a horcrux is an object that has had a piece of a person's soul transferred onto it. I want to get the explanation out in one go so let me get it all out first, then I can answer your questions. As Dumbledore explained it, each of our bodies has one soul it houses, that's easy enough to explain. But he also said that our souls can be ripped into pieces, when evil deeds are done and a certain magic is used, a horcrux can be created. This would ensure that even if the body is killed the other pieces of the soul survive because a horcrux is the opposite of a person. A person's soul can survive on without the body but with a horcrux, the object, or the body is essentially that piece of the soul and when that is destroyed, so is the piece of soul that was attached."

Harry looked on as he explained trying to gauge a reaction from Malfoy. He had taken everything he was told in stride, not once interrupting but as he recalled his own conversation with the headmaster so many years ago, he knew the questions aren't far behind.

Draco listened on, beginning to understand so much. More than anything he was astounded at the lengths the Dark Lord went to ensure his immortality.

"So the Dark Lord made a horcrux to ensure he never died?" Draco finally managed to voice out. His thoughts were still a jumbled mess.

"No, not one, six intentional, one unintentional, and the piece that remained in his body," Harry responded seriously hoping Malfoy would gather the severity of what transpired back then.

Draco couldn't believe it, he didn't know what these evil deeds consisted but he knew it was hardly picking daisies to cast that Dark Magic into breaking one's soul. Curiosity go the better of him "What kind of evil deeds are necessary?"

"The exact way to create one has been lost but for each ripping of the soul, it requires a life and the object that will serve as a horcrux," he responded accurately.

"So that's what you must have been looking for, but how did you know what you were looking for, he could have made anything into one of them?" Draco said finally understanding the enormity of the task Potter must have had in his hands back then.

"Well that's where the memories come into call. They provided patterns of Voldemort's behaviors and we deduced a lot from it. Also, I had already unknowingly destroyed one back in second year," Harry said hoping this would clear up some more questions of whether the son knew how much his father's actions intertwined into his story, Lucius.

When Draco didn't mention anything else Harry question him. "Did you know that your father planted the diary and it was that diary that led to the opening of the chamber of secrets?" It was a lot of leaps he had to make and Harry wondered if Draco could figure out what he was really asking.

"I didn't know that. As young as I was back then my father didn't really let me into his secret plans. I didn't know until later that it was my father placing that diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron that would lead to what it did. My father certainly didn't know that was a horcrux which I'm guessing is what you're really asking,"Draco answered with his brows furrowed, still frustrated about how much he didn't know.

"I didn't know it at that time either that when I stabbed it with a basilisk fang, that I was destroying a part of Voldemort's soul. That took me by surprise but that's where Dumbledore began his journey into locating the rest."

"How the bloody hell did you even begin to accomplish that, its a damn miracle you came out as victor. How do you know you got them all, maybe there's more out there," Draco said with hints of panic in his voice. He wondered if it was maybe best to have remained ignorant of the whole thing.

"I told you, from the memories. There was a reason I needed to be on good terms with Slughorn, it was the final piece to the whole puzzle."

"Really? I just thought Granger was rubbing off on you with the whole top student thing you had going. Seemed like she would incinerate you with her glare sometimes," he said with a laugh remembering the bookworm's constant frustration at her friends triumphs.

"Yeah she was bitter about it for a long while, but actually it was Snape who helped me out in that class. I got his old book and his notes were surprisingly very helpful," Harry said anticipating Draco's question.

"So what was so special about Slughorn's memory?"

"It was vital because it gave away exactly what we were up against. Slughorn had already given a memory of that conversation between himself and Riddle back when he was still a student. He gave that memory willingly but it was modified, it was tampered with meaning Slughorn personally changed what was discussed when a young Tom Riddle approached him about the subject of horcruxes. The tampered one just show him dismissing his question but the original, which I was able to gather with the help of a little Felix Felices, was much more important. In that memory Slughorn is again approached by Riddle asking about horcruxes but in this version he answers. Riddle asks if it not more prudent to make seven since it is a much more magical number."

Harry hears a small gasp from across the table. Malfoy is surprised to say the least.

"Yes, with that small memory we were able to figure out exactly what we were up against. He intended seven horcruxes. The diary was one, the others which we found out later included a ring from his maternal grandfather, the Hufflepuff cup, the Ravenclaw diadem, a locket that once belonged to his mother, Nagini, and the part that remained in his body was supposed to be the seventh piece. That is what we were looking for during our year on the run. It sounds easy now but back then we had only conjecture, we didn't really know that it was these things we were looking for. We only knew we were looking for powerful magical objects that could hold some meaning to Voldemort. We only solidly knew of the locket, the cup and Nagini, the rest was blundering guess work."

"How we were ever saved is a bloody miracle Potter, you know that. Half of the things you mentioned have been lost long ago, even surmised as pure legend, how the hell did you find them? The future of the Wizarding World on the shoulders of some good guesses. You've got some bloody luck Potter, and I'm not talking about the potion either. I'll never sleep again," Draco finished dramatically seeming to understand the gravity of the whole situation that Harry had to deal with.

"We were extremely lucky, I was at least. People around me didn't fare too well if you didn't realize," Harry responding letting some of the darkness and anger seep into his words.

Malfoy was reeling, he was still trying to wrap his head around what he just heard. Putting it out there he still wasn't satisfied, there were still some large holes in the story. He had a feeling Potter was only beginning. Looking onto the man in front of him he could only wonder at the strength of character it took to take this all on as a kid. He'd only been a kid when the fate of the world was placed on his shoulders, he himself was only a kid, they were all kids who had nothing to do with any of what happened but were suppose to finish it. He couldn't tell at which precise moment it happened but he could see it clearly now, there was some genuine respect for the man sitting across from him.

But yes, he could see now how it must weigh on Potter's mind, all those people lost in the last battle and even before then. Death must be a well known friend to his once nemesis. Draco didn't have a verbal response and only nodded for Harry to continue.

"There's more. But first I have another question. Have you ever heard of the Tales of Beedle and Bard, specifically the story 'The tale of the three brothers?," Harry primed knowing this part of the story was also necessary.

"Why Potter? Running out of bedtime stories for your kids?" Draco tried joking but seeing Harry's impatient face decide to follow up with the truth. "Yes, they're children's tales, told to impose moral values. Most in the Wizarding World would have grown up hearing about them. The story of the three brothers isn't the most popular but yes I remember it. About the three brothers crossing a river and meeting Death. Death then congratulated them and gifted each an object of some sort. It wasn't particularly the most interesting as I recall. Something about the objects being the Deathly Hallows and who owned them was the master of death or something like that."

"It's not just a story."Harry stated needing to get this out first before anything else.

"You know Potter if you're going to be spewing this kind of thing, I'm going to think this whole thing was a lie. The story is only a tale to entertain children.

"I know for a fact that it is real."

"It can't be. The magical gifts from death, the Deathly Hallows can't be real. What were the things, the Resurrection Stone? You can't bring people back from the dead. An invisibility cloak, those are a dime a dozen but they aren't taken from Death's own cloak. The Elder Wand, there's been many claims as to the most powerful wand throughout history. It can't be real," Draco said the last part challengingly.

"I don't know if three brothers really did meet Death upon crossing a river but I know for a fact that these object are real. I've held them." He paused there, letting Draco sink in what he was saying.

"It can't be real," Draco said more likely trying to tell himself that than directed at Harry.

"Earlier, you said it yourself, I got away with more than most during school. That was mostly due to a Christmas present I received my very first year at Hogwarts. An invisibility cloak, left in my possession by Dumbledore who was holding it for my father, who got it from his and so on, from what I've heard."

Draco heard this unbelieving. Potter had no reason to lie to him but the whole idea was absurd. It seemed impossible. "But invisibility cloaks are not that rare." Draco said finally clearing up some questions on how Potter seemed to get away with doing what most could only dream of. "They are sold, somewhat expensive but available."

"Yes that may be true, but what I have in my possession is a true Invisibility Cloak, not one with a disillusion charm that wears off with the years or can be torn. See for yourself,"Harry huffed pulling his trusty cloak from within his robes and throwing it across the table.

Draco caught it and examined it in silence. Potter was right, this before him it was a true and singularly unique invisibility cloak. One that challenged his beliefs on what he simply thought as a children's tale. He was still unsure but decided to challenge the other two objects.

"But the resurrection stone, explain the whole thing Potter, my mind is being blown over here."

"Fine, I'll stop with the dramatics. As the story goes, the brother brought back his would be wife wasn't truly happy, because the dead shouldn't be brought back. What he stone conjured was an echo of sorts, different but similar to ghosts. The resurrection stone was actually the stone set on the ring that once belonged to Riddle's grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt. Voldemort unknowingly made the resurrection stone into a horcrux. I don't have it with me but I can vouch for it. I used it in my last moments as I walked to meet Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Trust me, it works. As for the wand, you're partially right. There have been many claiming to be the best wand out there. What you probably didn't know that its always been the same one, just under guise of different names, the stick of destiny, Deathstick, the elder wand, and so on. What you also probably didn't know is that you Draco Malfoy were, for a time, the master of said wand."

Harry didn't get another word in because that's when Draco broke in "What?!" his words laced with incredulity.

"Yes Malfoy you heard me right. Grindewald was once the owner of said wand. When Dumbledore challenged him all those years ago he became the owner of it and on that night when you disarmed him in the Astronomy Tower you became the rightful owner of the wand. You don't need to kill to become its master. You were the master up until that night at your Manor when I disarmed you and then it fell to my hands."

Draco could only shake his head. He couldn't believe that he himself had been the master of the elusive Elder wand. He was its master and never even used it! He was kind of miffed at the fact.

"Is that why Olivander was stowed away in the dungeons of my home?," were the only words he could voice.

"Yes, but Voldemort only knew of it as such, the Elder wand, he didn't know it was one in a set of three magical objects. He needed information on why our wands reacted like they did when we dueled. It had something to do with sharing a core in our wands. So he sought out the only thing guaranteed to give him the upper hand should we meet up again."

Draco at this point had his head in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. He ran his fingers through his hair ruffling his usually immaculate appearance. This was all too much, it was getting to him. There was so much more, so much more than he ever gave credit for.

"So how do these Hallows make it to the bigger picture, I thought it was about Horcruxes?"

"I thought that too at some point. Its strange how much we think alike." Harry laughed at Draco's face of indignation. "When Dumbledore was preparing me for my eventual meeting with Voldemort we had only discussed the Horcruxes. That was the only thing that held our attention. He knew his time was running short and needed to tell me just enough so that I could continue the search. He never discussed the Hallows. Those were introduced to us when his will was carried out. He only left me clues as to the Hallows, very vague clues at that. He hoped to give me enough to become aware of them but not obsessed because my true search was the Horcruxes. I didn't realize it at the time but the Hallows were already in my possession and only needed to focus on horcruxes. So we did that, spent months doing nothing but thinking and planning. We found the locket, but even when we did it was still frustrating as we didn't have anything to destroy them with."

"Well aren't you a wizard, just blast it-"Draco stopped on his own, he didn't need for Harry to finish the sentence before he knew the answer to his own question. "With magic that Dark it would take something more powerful than a simple _reducto_ to get rid of it huh?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, these objects required vast amount of Dark magic to be created and needed an equally strong force to destroy them. I'm talking the most dangerous substances out there, Basilisk venom, Fynde fire and the sword of Gryffindor which was embedded with basilisk venom so i guess its the same thing."

"So how did you destroy them since I know you can't step into Diagon alley and find them there."

"We did manage to get a hold of the sword of Gryffindor thanks to Snape although it would've been easier if the ministry had given it to me when they were suppose to."

Harry saw the question in his expression and went on. "Dumbledore willed it to me along with the first snitch I caught which had the resurrection stone inside although I didn't know it then. He also left Ron an inluminator of his own making and Hermione the original tales of Beetle and Bard. These were the only clues he left me apart from our conversation. From those i was suppose to gather the whole Hallows things and destroy the remaining Horcruxes."

Draco was shaking his head in his hands again.

"I know, it wasn't much to go on, but we got there in the end."

"No that was nothing to go on. Dumbledore had a lot of faith in you," Draco was truly astonished at what Potter had to work with.

"I had a lot of help, he knew that. But looking back, it does seem somewhat impossible. If I hadn't personally gone through it, I might have not believed it."

"So what happened next, I don't even remember where the story left off. I might have 20 more years of therapeutic counseling thanks to this little chat Potter."

"The three of us were camping though Britain trying to look for Horcruxes and not get killed. Although it was two of us for a while if you can believe it." Harry didn't know why he was divulging this bit of the story. It wasn't necessarily essential to the main point but he wanted it out there. He wanted Draco to understand that it wasn't all sunshine and daisies on his side. They had a lot of rough times. He saw Malfoy questioning eyes and carried on to his explanation.

"There was a lot of pressure and a lot of people were missing. None of us had seen anybody since we started the whole camping trip. Hermione was worried sick about her parents and their memory, Ron had so many family member to worry about, it wasn't a picnic for any of us. Then we had to wear the stupid locket thing. Wearing it brought your darkest thoughts forward and finally one day Ron snapped. We hadn't been having much luck in anything and we had a falling out. He thought Hermione would followed but she stayed. He came back eventually but not before an extended moment of suffering and things smoothed over eventually."

"Its not surprising but it is nice to hear that you were human after all. Not so invincible although you made sure you seemed that way. What happened to Granger's parents, you lost me in that bit?" Draco asked still seeming unnaturally interested in his good friend.

"I don't know if its my tale to tell but I will. Before we began our camping adventure she thought of a way to keep her family safe. She's an only daughter so it wasn't as difficult. She modified their memories, made them forget they had a daughter, made them believe they had other names and moved them to Australia."

"She's always been clever but in the end all for good measure. I know for a fact her family was a high priority in the capture and kill list." Draco surprised himself because it was the first time he divulged anything that happened on his side of the war. It was true, her family was in real danger and the measures she took speak not only of her cleverness but of a love for them.

"I didn't know that there was an actual list. Is it too arrogant of me to think I was top of that list?" Harry asked wanting to stray from the seriousness if only for a moment.

At this Draco gave a genuine laugh. He was surprised he arrived at the day that he could laugh of his once dark past. "You were at the top of several list but not kill. Voldemort really wanted to end you personally, we had direct orders to not hurt a hair on your head lest we face the same fate," Draco finished surprised that discussing his past didn't hurt as much as it once did.

"So we get to the day I arrived at Malfoy Manor. Beautiful home by the way. At that point we'd gotten rid of the locket and knew for sure of the Hufflepuff cup and we had the sword of Gryffindor with us. We actually got caught by accident, it was really dumb. I forgot about the taboo and accidentally used Voldemort's name. The snatchers were on us before we knew which way was up. All our wards were useless as soon as I uttered his name. It was Hermione's fast thinking that got me an audience at your place. She hexed me hoping to alter my appearance enough to pass as inconsequential but no. I thought for sure that was our end when we saw Bellatrix. It was by pure miracle Voldemort wasn't there, he was still in his hunt for the wand. So there we were, brought forth by Greyback, completely helpless brought forward to you to confirm who I was," Harry left off there knowing he didn't need to ask one of the questions he had wanted to know all along.

"Why didn't I give you away, that's what you want to know, isn't it? To be honest, I don't have it narrowed down to a simple answer. I knew immediately who you were but I couldn't bring myself to say the words. I'd never had much conviction in the whole war mess. But at that moment it struck me, we were just kids, we were school and house rivals but that didn't mean I wanted you dead. I didn't mind a hex or some name calling but that day we were dealing with thing beyond our years. In those moments it was about our lives. I'd wanted you to succeed for a long time and for you to be in my house and let my words bring your life to an end. I couldn't. I didn't want that in my hands. I didn't want any of you there. Especially Granger, she didn't deserve that," he said that last part with his voice still haunted with the images of watching her being tortured in his sitting room.

"I'm glad you escaped with your lives. Even if was because of a house elf. Even if it meant several _crucios_ our way."

"I knew there would be consequences to our escape, I just hoped it wouldn't cost you your lives. Yes it was Dobby, your once house elf that got us out although it did cost him life. Not many people remember the little heroes. That was a close call for us but it gave us a clue as to the next horcrux. I don't know if you noticed but Bellatrix was especially interested in whether or not we'd been in her vault. How Hermione managed that lie on the spot will never cease to amaze me. We hadn't been in her vault but what she didn't know is that we actually had the real sword while the one in her vault was a copy. From her worry I surmised that there must be another one there. and it was true, so we-"

"Don't tell me, let me guess. You broke into Gringotts and escaped in a dragon. After hearing the rest of the story, it doesn't seem so farfetched now," Draco managed half laughing half wanting to cry at the whole incredulity of it.

"Yes the cup was there, and once we got out, on the released dragon, we only had one more intentional horcrux and by Voldemort"s anger I realized then that our game was up. We'd long wondered if he could feel whenever we had destroyed a horcrux and before that we were confident he didn't. The plan was to destroy them all without him knowing so when as I was to face him, it'd really be the end. We'd lost the sword. After our escape from Gringotts he was in right rage."

"You're telling me."

"From our connection I gathered that the last one was in Hogwarts although when we made our way there, I didn't know it meant the final battle was upon us. My intention was looking for something from Ravenclaw and destroying the cup. He was scared that I'd manage to work this much out and so he set out to look for the rest once he had hidden. What tipped him off was out breaking into Gringotts and specifically taking the cup and only the cup. Each discovery was worse and worse. He now knew that we'd reached his most secretly guarded places and had retrieved the Horcruxes. He was scared but felt more dangerous. Still confident in his victory though. And so we get to Hogwarts. Voldemort had the Elder wand having removed it from Dumbledore's grave not knowing it was mine from the moment I took your want back at the manor. Your wand was surprisingly yielding by the way. Way more easy to use than the other one I was stuck with," Harry admitted with ease hoping to earn rise out of the Slytherin.

"What happened to your own that you found it necessary to go around stealing people's wand."

"It broke in half during my encounter with him in Godric Hollow the night I visited. Which reminds me, I forgot that bit. Hermione and I went during Christmas eve, before Ron made it back. We visited Bathilda Bagshot hoping to learn more about Dumbledore but it turns out she'd been long dead and instead he'd had his snake there waiting for the moment I returned. He knew I would and we narrowly escaped but not before weakening me greatly without my wand. The first time I'd been back to Grodic's Hallow since that eventful night long ago, the first time I'd ever seen my parents' graves."

"You knew each other so well, really understood each other. Kind of scary there Potter," Draco admonished.

"Part of the job I guess. I needed to understand him. But yes on that May night we arrived at Hogwarts, we destroyed the cup by going reopening the chamber of secrets and recycling some basilisk fangs. The mysterious Ravenclaw item turned out to be the Lost diadem of Rewena Ravenclaw. I found out from the Greylady that it was in the room of requirement which was destroyed thanks to Goyle who summoned the Fynde fire. That signaled the fifth of six intentional horcruxes leaving only Nagini.

"You keep saying 'intentional' horcruxes Potter. There's more isn't there?" Draco said having noticed this previously but finally getting time to mention it.

"Yes, I'll get to that part, I was wondering when you'd finally take notice. So we get to the intermission of the battle. Voldemort calls a cease fire and during this time arranges a meeting with Snape. I know where it's being held and with help of the cloak we are privy to that meeting. Voldemort has just finished speaking with your father and calls in Snape. He voices his concerns for the wand, saying that it isn't working for him properly. He comes to the incorrect assumption that because he hasn't killed the actual master of the wand it won't work. He assumes that Snape, by killing Dumbledore, is the master but that's not how it works. You don't need to kill a person for a wand to change allegiances. So here he orders Nagini to attack and leaves with the arrogance that at the time we meet, he will be invincible. We rush in and in his last breaths Snape gifts me some memories. I know enough to know that getting to the pensieve will be a priority. What I see grants me so much clarity for moments I think it's too much. He shows me more than I ever imagined. It turns out Snape and my mother were friends long before either went to Hogwarts, she was muggle-born. He loved her. He changed his allegiance out of love for her. When it came to me, he agreed to protect me but no one was to ever know. Then we get to 6th year, when Dumbledore tried on the ring that was the horcrux, he knew this but it overtook him. His hand was cursed, Snape could only contain it but the verdict was the same, he had a year to live. That's when you were discussed. They knew of Voldemort's plan and so Dumbledore asked the impossible from his loyal colleague. He asked that when the time came, that Snape carry out what you were meant to do. He asked for mercy from Snape, to end him, to prevent you from irrevocably damaging your own soul with his death. It was all arranged. It would cement his allegiance in the eyes of Voldemort. He was dying already." Harry chanced another glance across. Draco looked pale beyond his already natural pale tone. His face showed shock but also hints of relief. He took a deep breath and he could practically see that burden being removed from his shoulders, he even seemed to be sitting higher.

"He knew he was dying?" Draco asked trying to commit that to memory.

"Yes, his death was arranged, sort of. I wouldn't lie about something like this. Not to you, not now. But there's more to the memory. In it was a final message from Dumbledore to me. He said that once Voldemort took great lengths to keep his snake safe I could be told the last bit of information. He said that when that time came, I had go willingly. I was surprised by Snape's reaction but kind of relieved by it. He was upset that I'd been raised like cattle to slaughter."

"You were the unintentional horcrux," Draco said the statement with a twinge of question at the end.

"Yes, I'm surprised you got there so quickly. But the final message was that when the time came, I had to die, and it had to be by Voldemort's own hand. So when I left Dumbledore's office after seeing those memories I walked on with the invisibility cloak. I didn't want to be seen, if I did, it'd be too easy to stay and so much harder to go. Then everything started clicking, I found out how to open the snitch to retrieve the Resurrection stone and called upon all those I'd loved and lost. In those, my hardest moments where I had to willingly walk to deaths hands I used it to give me the strength to keep moving. In those moments I traveled being the true master of the hallows, although I only had two with me at the time, I walked on as the story goes, as the master of death, not as enemies but long lost friends walking side by side. And at that moment it felt as such. There was such a relief knowing this was easy, I had nothing to do, no dueling, nothing, just let myself fall. I walked into that clearing removed he cloak and could only concentrate on standing as I saw the flash green move towards me and consume me."

"But how the hell are you alive Potter! If any of this is true, and I'm beginning to think it's not then you managed to survive the killing curse twice! This is bordering on fanciful,"his opponent spat out with more anger than he'd shown during the whole conversation. Draco didn't know why he was angry. Maybe it was because Potter had an insane amount of luck. Maybe because he could only imagine the worth of a person to be granted pardon by death twice. Maybe it was because he envied him, maybe because he pitied him. Maybe it was because he was frustrated at these answers not having been voiced sooner. But he realized his temper needed dampening before they could resume.

"So what happened next," he managed with a much calmer tone.

"The next parts a bit strange and its one I haven't even voiced to anyone else. I remember waking to a semblance of King's Cross Station. Dumbledore was there and we had a bit of a chat. I don't remember much but I knew I was comforted. I knew that if I chose it I could have gone on but I knew there was still things I had to do. So I awoke and I immediately realized that Voldemort had also been affected. He called your mother forward and asked to check if I still lived. She came forward but the only words from her where regarding your safety. Once I assured her you were alive and in the castle she lied to Voldemort and told him I was dead.

"She was never as dedicated to the cause as my Father was." Draco knew his mother had never wanted any of it. She had been a young bride when she got sucked into the fold by her husband.

"For that I'm always be grateful. After that he c_ruciod_ me a bit, and in case you ever wondered, it's bloody difficult pretending to be dead when you're being _cruciod_, but luckily he didn't notice. He walks back to Hogwarts hoping to parade my demise, but I'm alive. Neville takes care of Nagini. The only part left is the one that resided in his body having himself killed the part of his soul that resided in me. The only one left was the one in his flesh. And we arrive at the final confrontation. Up to this point the whole Elder wand was still somewhat speculation but I was pretty sure I was right. This was the moment that would prove it. So when he used the Elder wand and cast a killing curse against the true master of the elder wand, the only natural course was for it to be rebounded killing him in an insignificant leap of gravity. With the Elder wand I fixed my old broken one and its the one I've used ever since," Harry finished wanting to know Malfoy's reaction to this long story that connected their destinies.

"What did you do with the Elder wand?" Malfoy asked with mild ambition in his eyes.

This was the only bit of information he would always keep only to himself. It was too much temptation even for the best of wizards and he didn't want anyone to find it.

"I'm sure you can understand why I'm keeping that bit to myself. Not even Ron and Hermione know what I've done with it. It's for the best I think," he finished noticing the smile on Malfoy's features.

"Clever," was the only thing Draco could voice because he could see the reasoning. It would be too much temptation anyone.

"So we come to the end and the rest, is as they say, history. There was the incarceration of the rest of the Death Eaters, the trials, the rebuilding of Hogwarts and trying to heal those wounds."

"There's still one question bugging me. Why you? Why were you the 'Chosen one', 'The Boy Who Lived?' Why was it you he chose to kill that Halloween night all those years ago. Why go after a baby," he finished wanting to close this chapter, to get all the answers.

"Oh, I guess not many knew of the prophecy."

"Prophecy? The one my father got sent to Azkaban in fifth year for? That's what this whole thing is about? Some Trelawny look alike spoke some words and suddenly the entire fate is in your hands?"

"Well yes that one, although the one in the ministry was only a copy. The original one was heard by Dumbledore from Trelawny actually. I know what you're thinking but although most of what she says is codswallop, she does have her authentic moments where a true prophecy is revealed, although she can't remember what she says. On the night she revealed that prophecy to Dumbledore there was someone else listening in. That night she spoke of one that could defeat the Dark Lord, a boy, who would be born in late July, whose parents had thrice defied the Dark Lord. This child would be marked by his own hand for neither could live while the other survived, "Harry finished, unconsciously quoting the words that marked his destiny for so long.

"So that's why he went after you, because a prophecy said you could be the one to bring his downfall?"

"Curiously it could have not meant me at all. The prophecy only meant a boy born in late July, whose parents had thrice defied him. That scenario applied to two families."

"So how did the dark lord know who it referred to?"

"Simple, the Dark Lord would mark him as such. Do you want to know who could have been my place if only Voldemort would have chosen differently?" Harry asked anticipating a reaction from Draco.

"I'm still reeling here so hit me with it. I don't think anything you could say could rock me much more."

"Haha. You'd be surprised. Neville. The other boy born at the end of July whose parents had thrice defied him was Neville Longbottom."

"No, you're kidding me now. Shitting me. Are you saying the fate of all our lives could have been on Longbottom's shoulders? Do you know why he went with you instead of Longbottom, not that I'd blame him but he didn't know how you'd turn out," Draco said amusing himself by still managing to make fun of the once blundering Gryffindor.

"I can't be sure, but the way Dumbledore told me makes sense. He chose the boy who he saw as a greater threat. Not a pureblood but a half-blood like himself. That is where it all started from. That's where my story started and ended, with the prophecy," Harry finished, glad to have finished with this part of the conversation.

"Your story might be done but I think there's some things I still need to say,"Draco added. "I never properly thanked you for your part in my family's and my trials. It was thanks to your testimony that my mother and I never saw the inside of Azkaban. Honestly, that's a debt owed, so if you ever need anything don't hesitate Potter. I also want you to know something else, I don't know why but something tells me I need to say them out loud. I long ago stopped believing in the importance of blood status. I don't think I ever did. Once I really understood what it meant and all its ramifications I never again wanted to have anything to do with it. We're at that age when we have kids who are beginning to understand who we were, we both have kids at Hogwarts. I just want you to know that the indoctrination stopped with my father, I'm doing better for them. Nobody wants a repeat," he managed to finish wanting Potter to understand that he had grown up and was different from his family. He wasn't seeking his approval but also wanted him to know that what he did then was right, he never was the person that the dark mark branded him as.

"I understand that Malfoy, I let those things go a long time ago. I didn't hold on to those prejudices for long. I knew from experience they're hardly ever right. You don't owe me an explanation for that. I know the man you've become now. But there is something else you owe me an explanation for. Like and explanation as to why your youngest son is after my Lily," Harry finished with some mock accusation in his tone.

"Don't even get me started on that Potter. It's not necessarily something I encouraged believe me. This must be some the universe's idea of payback for my past grievances. Do you think it's getting serious?," Draco asked with more seriousness to this particular topic.

"I think it is, but if my daughter is ever asked to become Mrs. Malfoy I might have to bring out that Elder wand again. Just when I thought I'd seen just about everything," Harry said now with actual laughter in between words.

"Do you want some surprising truths of your own Potter?" Draco asked deciding on a whim to reveal what he knows as far as the relationship.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like it. Alright, lay it on me. I can take it. I killed Voldemort. I can take it," Harry finished absurdly trying to mentally prepare for whatever Draco was about to reveal.

"Leo came up to me some time ago and asked for something from the family vaults. He asked for one of the pieces that falls to him. I had to split it since most of my past generations go for just the one kid. He asked me for the family engagement ring which falls to him. I asked him if he was sure that it was what he wanted. We had a long chat but needless to say, I think its serious. I just mostly wanted to know how aware you were."

"So its true, I wasn't just imagining it. Yeah I'd seen them and I was mostly in denial but its difficult to argue against it. They're still too young, seventh year. I can't believe it, I'm going to have to share grandchildren with you Malfoy."

"Whoa there Potter, don't get ahead of yourself, we don't even know if she's going to say yes. There might still be a way to avoid having to spend too much time in each others company."

"I thought so too until you mentioned the engagement ring. Lily asked for a special dinner for this Friday night, two days. She wanted the whole family there, James and Albus. Didn't say what it was about, only that she'd invited Leo over and that she expected our support. Its undeniable, its happening. The only consolation I have is that the kids will definitely be in Gryffindor,"Harry finished knowing this would irk the ever Slytherin.

"Wait one moment Potter, there has never been a Gryffindor Malfoy and so help me if that happens I will personally hunt you down and do what the Dark Lord never could. If any Malfoy ever wears those colors I will blame you for it."

"What else do you expect? You were the brilliant one who decided to name their son 'Leo'. You practically stuck the Gryffindor scarves on our grand-kids with that one."

And they spend the rest of the evening and late into the night in the same vein. Bringing out the stronger drinks and toasting to the closing of old chapters and the beginning of new ones between their families. They talked about much more and nothing at all.

They weren't enemies anymore but they also weren't best friends. At his point in their lives they reached a new starting point. From now on their interactions would be based who they turned out to be not who they once were.

* * *

**_-(this concludes the conversation with Draco. I have one or two more chapters left where I tie the story back to the original conversation with Ron and Hermione.)_**


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